OUR ADOPTED SCHOOL – MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY:
University United Methodist Church has an over 40-year history with the new McKinley Elementary (combined campuses of the former University Terrace and Buchanan Elementary Schools). The church officially partnered with the school when it was formerly University Terrace, in 1983. Since then we have taken part in numerous community projects to help the school through fundraising, beautification, and general emotional and physical support.
The new $25 million facility at 408 East Polk Street (the historic address of University Terrace) will have the capacity to eventually educate more than 800 students. This inaugural year, McKinley Elementary is expected to have a total population of more than 600 students for the 2023-24 school year in grades K-5.
Contact our Kids Hope Director, Shirley Flake, at shirley@universitymethodist.org to learn more about this life-changing program and how you can volunteer.
Each mentor is paired with a 3rd grader at McKinley Elementary and meets with them on a weekly basis to work on academics and develop a strong friendship.
Faithfully commit to praying for one of our mentor/child pairs. Pray for their success and check in with them to hear joys and concerns.
Our Garden Team meets every Tuesday morning in the edible garden at McKinley from 8:00 – 9:30 AM. The team works with the 5th grade students involving them in the entire gardening process.
We currently sponsor 18 book clubs for the entire 4th grade. Each club has an adult leader who guides the small group of students through new chapter books we gained from generous donations. Children engage in discussions about character development, the author’s purpose, and vocabulary usage. Each child will complete 3 books which they get to keep to add to their home library.
Each year we sponsor several events in which extra volunteers are always needed and welcomed. We provide a Back-To-School Teacher Breakfast and luncheons at Christmas and the End of the Year, a school-wide Holiday carnival at the school, and the 5th grade graduation ceremony and reception at our church.
Kids Hope relies on donations to help meet the needs of our partner school. This year, we gratefully accept monetary donations to help us meet individual needs for school supplies and uniforms. We also depend on donations to purchase new chapter books for all 80+ of our book club students and maintain the edible garden.
Meet our UUMC KIDS HOPE DIRECTOR
UUMC Kids Hope Director
shirley@universitymethodist.org
Live Streamed at 11 AM Every Sunday - www.youtube.com/uumcbr
8:30 AM & 11:00 AM Worship, with child care available.
3350 Dalrymple Drive | Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802