BEYOND OUR WALLS 

 LOCAL MISSION NEEDS YOUR HELP

 A few months ago, we told you about a very worthwhile local mission project, the Christian Day Nursery. This pre-school for ages 2 to 5 is located downtown on the corner of Court and Campo Streets, opposite the Post Office. It is a non-profit, non-denominational school, offering a Christian centered learning environment, especially geared to low-income families who are working but cannot afford other daycare. Therefore, the fees at the CDN are based on the ability of the family to pay.

 In 1957, a group of Las Cruces women participated in a study called “Christ’s Way Everyday”. During this time, they observed a crucial void in the community of needed child care for low-income working mothers. Recognizing this as a worthwhile and much needed mission, the group joined together and formed the Christian Day Nursery. Since 1967, the CDN has been at its present location, with a thrift store adjoining to supplement the income for the school. The thrift store is called The Wonderland Store.

 Since the tuition paid by all the students is much less than the amount needed to cover the expenses incurred, the CDN must rely upon several outside sources of income and help including: donations from churches, businesses and individuals; income from the Wonderland Store; and Volunteer Help (1) to assist customers at the Wonderland Store, (2) to prepare and display items for sale there, (3) to make repairs and provide maintenance at the school and the store, and (4) to donate items for sale at the thrift store or for use at the CDN. For example, in our church, Marcus Burr has given of his time and talents to build and paint two much-needed bookcases for the school and has recently offered to work on another project. And Paul Rohe has made repairs to the kitchen cabinets needed to comply with licensing requirements, and he has helped with other maintenance tasks such as changing light bulbs and getting a door unstuck. Hank Stevenson donated a computer which the school needs. And several women in our church volunteer to work at the Wonderland Store on the third Wednesday and Thursday of each month.

 The store is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 am to 12:30pm each week; and if you have any items to donate, please take them to the store during those times. Volunteers from St. Paul’s Methodist are now in charge of the operation of the store, but First Presbyterian Church provides volunteers to work on the third week of every month.

 We have several women who have been helping at the store and many of our members bring items to donate. If you could help with this volunteer work, even every two to three months, please contact Jean Rhodes at 382-9098, as more volunteers are needed.

 Another need is for a small TV with built-in VCR if anyone has one that they will not be using. The school has VCR Bible stories which they can watch if they had a VCR-TV.

 This past December was a low point for the CDN. Expenses had steadily exceeded income and donations; they needed a new director; the student enrollment was down to about 16 (the CDN needs at least 26-27 pupils to break even), and some of the equipment, furnishings and supplies needed replenishment or replacement.

 The CDN Board seriously considered whether we could continue to operate the CDN--however, we distributed new brochures, sent out letters to businessmen, churches and other contacts and held a fund raising event in early December. We also prayed a lot.

 We began seeing some answers to our prayers after the fund raiser and received enough donations to get us through the next couple of months However, the CDN is still not out of the woods, financially, but many exciting and encouraging things have happened.

 The Board in January, hired a new director, Pat Horton, who had had over 25 years experience as a teacher of early childhood education. She is the wife of a minister and her father and two sons are also in the ministry so she comes with a commitment to Christ and has felt that she has been called to lead a Christ-centered pre-school. Already her influence has been a ray of light at the school. She has brought many of her own books and supplies to brighten up the room and to create a pleasant environment for learning. The students are responding and often are not ready to go home when their parents come for them. Even more important, enrollment has steadily increased in the two weeks since she has taken over, from 16 around mid-December to 22 in mid-January. As enrollment increases, we will need to hire more personnel to meet state licensing requirements and a part-time cook to get the meals and purchase the food. (The teacher who currently does the cooking will be needed to teach.) Therefore, if anyone in our church knows of a person who would be qualified for this job, again please call Jean Rhodes, 382-9098.

 While the end of the year donations have carried us through a rough spell and recent events are really encouraging, the only way this mission in our community can continue is to have a steady source of donations from many sources, even small but regular pledges, to supplement the times when we do not have full enrollment or when the income levels are so low that the tuition they pay is not enough to cover expenses. The original idea of the CDN’s mission was to supplement what the parents could not afford to pay. First Presbyterian Church, through its Missions Committee of the Session, has been and is the largest continuous contributor to the CDN of all the churches in Las Cruces. Without this support from First Presbyterian and extra financial help from some of the Board members, the CDN could not have survived over the last few months. The Board is very appreciative of the financial and volunteer support which our church provides.

 Over the years many of our church members have been active supporters of the CDN. Many in our church know the dedication of people like Kenneth Melgaard, Helen Clark Ada Moorehead and many others. We need NEW supporters who are committed to this Lord’s work in our community. Please consider how you might help.

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Send comments, suggestions, and requests to Alex. F. Burr or send email to aburr @ zianet.com.
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Last update 2005-09-20 12:39:56