Build It and They Will Come
Dior Burns Eagan
In the movie, “Field of Dreams,” Kevin Costner hears the iconic phrase, “If you build it, he will come.” This inspired him to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield where players of the past would return, including his own father.
Right before his very eyes, Costner watched the game of baseball being played on his land, as players came out of nowhere to play, united by one thing … their love of baseball.
While the Buckner Family Hope Center at Reed Road is not a baseball stadium with bright lights where fans cheer on their favorite team, you can hear cheering of a different kind.
It is the laughter of the children in the after-school program as they play tag outside.
It is the applause of the crowd for the graduates of our Nurturing Parenting class.
It is the collective voice of teens reciting their daily mantra about self-worth and being created to do mighty things.
For the Sunnyside and Cornerstone communities, the Family Hope Center at Reed Road has become a beacon of hope for families. Through our programs, we can meet families where they are to engage, equip and elevate them to become independently successful. We offer parenting classes, financial literacy, job preparation classes, and GED programs.
We connect families with valuable resources through our resource center. We never let anyone leave empty-handed, even if that means a brochure in one hand and a hygiene kit or a pair of shoes in the other. We focus on programming geared around the whole family and the whole person, ensuring we are addressing the physical, spiritual, social, and educational needs of our participants.
“Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.” Proverbs 9:9 ESV
Equipping the whole family to succeed
We help our families become advocates for themselves, ultimately independent of the system. It changes the conversation around the dinner table, as we work with both the parents and the children through our programs.
In the after-school program, we work with children in first through fifth grade, focusing on emotional intelligence, spiritual growth through Bible study, and the social aspects of living in community with others.
We provide tutors and support for their homework to help them achieve success in school. We provide a variety of activities to enhance students’ cultural knowledge through field trips and onsite speakers, like local banks who share the importance of saving money.
Our teen program, for children ages 12-18, teaches life and leadership skills, such as how to have healthy relationships with others, give back to their community, and learn more about themselves and their own self-image. We help our youth transition into adulthood by identifying their path after graduation, which could be college, a trade school, or even a job, depending on their interest and abilities. We help them prepare for what their future looks like by assessing their needs and assisting them to meet their goals.
Showing Christ’s Love
It is through our deep-rooted faith that we not only tell people about the love of Jesus, but we also show them through our work. We serve as the hands and feet of Jesus showing our families Christ’s love for them. We want the Family Hope Center to be a place of hope and healing, as we know so many who come through our doors have experienced trauma and faced many challenges.
That is why we have full-time counselors and recovery classes to help heal the wounds of the past that keep individuals from moving forward. When they may fall, we want to help them get back up and see that obstacles do not have to be barriers.
If we can change the path of just one mom or dad, we are changing the future for their child. We are here to make generational changes and impact the course for one family, one person at a time.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 ESV
Julia’s Story
Julia Johnson is just one of the many families we have impacted, as she and her twin boys came through our doors when we first opened in 2018. While we have known her, she has participated in family coaching, graduated from both the Nurturing Parenting and Jobs for Life courses, and passed her GED—all while her boys attended the Family Hope Center after school and summer programs.
She has become a certified health worker and started her own hair care line. Now, her business is thriving, and her products are being sold in two stores and online. She has done the work and really embraced all the resources offered to her. She has healed from her past and thus has been able to look to the future with optimism and hope for her boys. We are so grateful to have been part of her journey and continue to watch from the sidelines to cheer her on.