Kirk of Kildaire sponsors missions projects that are church-based, local, national, and global.
The Kirk provides a group of volunteers one Saturday of every month to work on homes being built by Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. Volunteers usually donate about 6-7 hours. Experience is not required. This is a great team building activity for Sunday School classes, K-Groups, families and other small groups, and for individuals to work with other Kirk members.
For more information visit:
www.habitatwake.org
To volunteer for this mission contact:
Amy Huenemann
Kirk Member
joelandamy@twc.com
919-469-8085
Presbyterian Women Circles, Kirk Small Groups, and Kirk Youth prepare and serve a complete dinner monthly to approximately 65-70 residents at the Helen Wright Center for Women, a homeless shelter in Raleigh. Meals are delivered to the center by Kirk volunteers by 6:30 pm and dinner is served at 7:00 pm. Your team can choose to stay and serve dinner or drop off only. Center residents handle clean up. One of the volunteers loading food from the Kirk needs to have a key fob to the church. Those serving can expect to return to the Kirk no later than 8:00 pm.
Learn more at:
https://urbanmin.org/helen-wright-center/
For up-to-date details on specific needs, contact the Kirk coordinator.
Contact:
DJ Sellers
Kirk Coordinator
dj2114@aol.com
908-868-1655
At the Kirk we love our neighbors! In the past few years we have developed a variety of programs to meet the various needs of our community. Our church is currently an official Plaza Comunitaria site, this is a free curriculum in Spanish created by the Mexican National Institute of Adult Education (INEA) to help Hispanics learn to read and write in their native language and finish elementary- and intermediate-level education certified by the Mexican Department of Education. There are many ways to be involved in showing Jesus’ love to our neighbors. They include:
- Food distribution – the 1st and 3rd Saturday every month
- Summer Program – breakfast and lunch are provided all summer in addition to enrichment programs for all ages. Volunteers are needed in all areas.
- Christmas Store – an opportunity for our neighbors to come and shop for items at 70 to 80% discount so they can buy presents for their children. The largest group we serve are parents of teens since most programs only want elementary age children.
- KOALA+ program – for high school students to help them succeed and graduate to attend a community college and/or university. Scholarships are awarded to all who finish the program.
- Plaza Comunitaria – ESL, GED and Spanish elementary/intermediate education classes.
- Bunk bed program – volunteers are building bunk beds so kids/teens do not sleep on the floor. We need assistance getting mattresses, sheets, pillows and blankets.
Contact:
Patty Snow
Neighborhood Ministry Director
Each summer the Kirk works with other local churches to host a nine-week program for neighborhood families at our church. The program runs Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Our church is responsible for providing volunteers for one of these days every week.
For children, the activities include:
- active games
- reading enrichment
- crafts all based on a theme.
For adults, there are enrichment activities around life-skills based on interest. A nutritious breakfast and lunch is served daily; participating families are also able to take home free vegetable boxes or basic staples. Volunteers are needed to help in the various areas. This ministry is funded from a variety of sources including USDA, New Hope Presbyterian, and Cary Women’s Giving Network Gift Fund, a component fund of the North Carolina Community Foundation.
Contact:
Patty Snow
Director of Neighborhood Ministries
patsnow13@gmail.com
The Kirk has had a partnership with the village of Palá, Guatemala since our first mission trip the summer of 2006. Our projects focus on education, economic development and health education.
Education
Construction of the library was finished by the end of 2009 and inaugurated, outfitted and staffed with a Director, Assistant and Computer Teacher in 2010. The computer center is certified by the Education Department in Guatemala and attracts students from around the area.
Education
Scholarships are funded by a variety of individuals or small groups to help provide an education to middle school, high school and university students.
Scholarship amounts are between $300 – $1,500 depending on the level of education being received. We require that half the students be female and half the students be male. There is no requirement that they attend any particular church. For information on how to be a student sponsor, contact Patty Snow at patsnow13@gmail.com.
Health & Nutrition
Men’s and Women’s Health Workshops
Since 2009, Mike Anthony, MD, has traveled to Palá on an annual basis and conducted health workshops for the men and women. We have partnered with a non-profit in Guatemala, APROFAM, to assist in general health seminars. We are now working with the Community Health Worker who services the village.
Health & Nutrition
School Lunch Program
Guatemala Village Partners (our official 501(c)3) has partnered with Rise Against Hunger to provide meals for a school lunch program in Palá and in several orphanages around the country.
Economic Development
Textile Program
Barney Hale has worked with a weaving guild that he established in Palá. This group of 22 women sells Barney 12 scarves at each trip. Barney brings the scarves back to the US and sells the scarves in a number of locations. All proceeds go back to the women who weave the scarves. To date over 600 scarves have been sold. The women who are in the program tell us that their husbands allow them to keep this income. The money has been used to pay off loans, purchase crops, etc. The women all feel that this is giving them power they have never had.
Economic Development
Micro-Loan Program
To date, the micro-loans have been repaid with interest on a regular basis. The funds are then loaned out again to all who qualify. The initial amount of a loan was $70 but has now increased to almost $100 as a result of some funds being donated to this project and the interest that has been paid. Most of the loans have been used by the men to improve their coffee crops, and women have used the loans to buy pigs, for textile projects, etc.
Economic Development
Coffee Plants
The first Kirk mission trip involved planting coffee plants on the side of the mountain.
Economic Development
Agricultural Diversification Program
This two year program was launched with an initial group of 10 farmers (half men, half women) in January 2013. A second group of 10 farmers was trained from 2015-2017. These farmers are charged with sharing their knowledge with the farmers in Palá.
Other Missions We Support
The Kirk provides financial support to the following ministries:
- Alliance Medical Mission
- Carying Place
- Dorcas Ministries
- Eastern North Carolina
- Food Bank
- NC State Campus Ministry
- Raleigh Rescue Mission
- SAFEchild
- The Healing Place