The Montpelier Community of Faith held the first public meeting on Thursday at the Montpelier School. Thirty-six members of the community were in attendance from multiple congregations in and around Montpelier.
Those in attendance heard from several community leaders who lent their perspective to the importance of this initiative. Dr. Jamie Grime, Montpelier’s Superintendent, spoke about the danger of bullying that is on the rise in schools around the country and the need for the community to stand up to bullying and other negative behaviors. Pastor Benaiah Harris of the House the Prayer spoke on the simple method of just being a positive presence for the children in our community. Mrs. Connie Graham, Montpelier’s Elementary Principal, spoke about those children who need encouragement in our school. There are so many children who recoil from a hug or encouragement but she has committed to them: “I won’t give up on you.”
These comments added to the details of the initiative that were presented by Chris Kannel. Mr. Kannel described the activities of the Montpelier Community of Faith as: “the first small steps to get the Christian people of our community engaged in support of the mission of our school.” The Community of Faith hopes to recruit adult volunteers for two activities:
- “Bus Stop Monitors” will arrive before the children at the two largest bus stops in the community: Storrer Park on Platt Street and New Beginnings Church on Broad Street. Volunteers will be asked to commit up to 45 minutes one morning per week to watch for bullying and other dangerous activities and to be a proactive role model for kindness for the children at the bus stop.
- “Greeters” will greet children at the door of the school. Volunteers will be asked to commit up to 1 hour one morning per week to welcome children to school for the day. School staff have some suggestions for these volunteers after the children have come in the door which is still to be determined.
The next meeting will be a training and coordination session to get volunteers ready to help the children. This meeting will be held at multiple times to accommodate various schedules: Tuesday, November 12 and Thursday, November 14, both at 7:00 PM in the school’s Auditeria.
For more information contact Chris Kannel at chris@kannelinsurance.com or call him at 419-551-4783. You may also watch Facebook for a new page for the Montpelier Community of Faith coming soon.
INFORMATION PROVIDED