WALLINGFORD, PA, (BRN) – On behalf of The Foundry in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, I want to say thank you for the Baptist Resource Network’s (BRN) partnership.

With your help we impacted five groups of children in 2023. It was our widest reach into our community in years. Your gift allowed us to layer the gospel into rich and diverse people groups. These groups include Legacy Arts, The Garage Avondale and students from local schools.

Legacy Arts

The Foundry supports a ministry called Painting Freedom, led by a former young grouper, Tucker Rodkey. He leads an arts outreach to teens in the city of Chester, Pennsylvania. This year, we adopted the teens by giving them backpacks provided by the BRN’s partnership with North Carolina Baptists and Baptists On Mission. As a special addition to the backpacks, we were able to provide each student with a package of art supplies!

The Garage in Avondale

Over the years, our church has mentored many college students. Aaron Smith was a son of a North American Mission Board (NAMB) church planter who attended Widener University. Aaron followed us around for four years, his final two as my intern.

Today, Aaron leads The Garage in Avondale. The program serves Hispanic immigrant teens. We adopted them last year. Backpacks were distributed to them  as a part of their Christmas outreach. Thank you for the Spanish Bibles!

Outreach to Local Students

During the Christmas season, we were able to distribute backpacks to students at the Kinder Park Community Center. Our church member Bob Young is the center director along with his wife Jackie. They serve a mixed community, home to senior living high rises and town homes that house 150 single moms. We have a remote food cupboard at the community center and support the weekly Child Evangelism Fellowship programing that happens there.

We also distributed backpacks to two elementary schools in our area, 80 to a soccer club at Stetser Elementary in Chester, Pennsylvania, and 16 to a soccer club at Main Street Elementary in Upland, Pennsylvania. Additionally, we support food outreach programs to kids at both.Thank you for helping us share the gospel with groups of students around our community!Hunger Fund Grants are available for churches striving to eradicate food insecurity in their communities or working to reach their neighbors by providing meals. If your church and community can benefit from a Hunger Fund Grant, please contact our Help Desk at helpdesk@brnunited.org to apply or learn more.