Eastside Christian Church, a nondenominational congregation in East Anaheim, participated in “Serve Beyond,” Eastside’s biannual day of service to the community, specifically local Title 1 schools.
Schools included Kraemer Middle School, Melrose Elementary, Morse Elementary, Rio Vista Elementary, Ruby Drive Elementary, Topaz Elementary, Tynes Elementary and Valadez Middle School.
Eastside has more than 1,000 members who come to “serve beyond” the church walls twice a year on “Serve Beyond” day.
Title 1 schools consist primarily of students who are at risk of failure and live at or near poverty level. While these schools receive additional government funding, those resources are allocated to specific projects, leaving teachers without basic resources such as paper, pencils or markers.
The schools also are under budgeted for custodial and improvements, so each school has only one custodian, some for only half a day. In the schools served by the church, about 90 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch and 30 percent of the students are considered homeless.
More than 2,000 Eastsiders will serve individually, as families and as connection groups – smaller groups of people who meet weekly in homes to connect beyond the weekend service.
The church partners Title 1 schools in three ways.
1. Eastsiders will clean local schools: scrape gum off tables and floors, wash windows and tables, disinfect desktops, plant flowerbeds – tasks that custodians don’t have time for. Eastside has also provided resources such as tires for a custodial cart and a carpet-cleaning machine.
2. Eastside has provided teachers with wish lists and will supply items requested such as paper, printer toner, crayons, or other materials needed for the classroom. The church will provide 220 teachers with $50 gifts from their wish lists, provided in wrapped baskets by individuals and connection groups.
3. Because many students at Title 1 schools have no resources for “extras” such as Christmas gifts, Eastside is also partnering with Topaz Elementary in a Pajama Drive, donating hundreds of new outfits that will be given to students before the Christmas break, providing Topaz’s 571 children with new pajamas for Christmas.
– Eastside Christian Church is at 3330 E. Miraloma Ave., Anaheim. Weekend service times: 5 p.m. Saturdays, 9:30 and 11:15 a.m. Sundays. Information: eastside.com.