AMP-ing It Up

After a couple months of volunteering, Alex Tungesvik discovered a need at Granny’s House and acted upon it - a need for kids to get more serious about school.

“Growing up, I always had people in my life who believed in me and pushed me to be better, whether it was my parents, a teacher, or a coach. I owe e

very success in my life in part to these people,” says Tungesvik. Alex hoped to instill confidence and unlock the po

tential of children at Granny’s House. He reflected on challenged initiated by his high school physics teacher and began brainstorming a program designed especially for Granny’s House.

Alex brought his ideas to Granny Pam who connected him with Granny’s House intern, Kimberly Johnson Anderson. “After hearing Alex speak, I was very excited. I’ve personally experienced the importance of education and how it has and is continuing to allow me to create a better life for myself.” says Johnson Anderson. She continues, “Intimate relationships with God coupled with education allows the kids to create a brighter future.”

The two solidified the program’s framework and named it AMP - Academic Motivation Program. In its first semester, more than 40 kids participated, recording over 170 study hours. Participants were recognized and presented with awards and grade level winners received monetary prizes and trophies.

Deborah, Elementary Winner; Marri, High School Winner; Ange, Grand Prize Winner. Not pictured: Consolee, Middle School Winner

“Honestly, the program is more successful than we imagined. We didn’t anticipate this level of participation. On many days, study sessions extend out of the Learning Loft and into the office, next door, or even outside,” notes Johnson Anderson. AMP is currently in its second semester and is projected to exceed last semester’s success.

More on Alex and Kim

Alex is graduate of the University of Missouri. Currently, he works as an ER technician at Capital Regional Medical Center while applying to medical school. Alex has been a volunteer at Granny’s House since June 2011.

Kimberly will be graduating from the University of Missouri in May. She will be returning to Kansas City to work for Aldi, Inc. as a district manager. Kim has been serving at Granny’s House since February 2010.

The Learning Loft

Equipped with two computers, a printer, books, and supplies, the Learning Loft serves as the dedicated place for the children to study. Each day, GH kids pour into the room for homework help and tutoring.

For more information on how you can support or get involved with Granny’s House, visit our How You Can Help page.

We Believe in Miracles!

Yes, we do believe in miracles at Granny's House... When I first met with Adrian Clifton several months ago to discuss volunteer opportunities at Granny's House, I left that meeting with my head spinning and heart racing. PhD candidate, wife, and mother of three young children all wrapped up in one beautiful package.

But it was as she began to unwrap the layers of her past life that I began to see the miracle emerge. Having lived through and triumphed over so many of the temptations and challenges that Granny's House kids and families face, I immediately thought "Wow! she'd be so effective as a G.I.R.L.S. group team leader working with girls who have outgrown The Princess Academy." (The G.I.R.L.S. is an acronym for "Experiencing God In Real Life Situations"). She's been working with the G.I.R.L.S. team ever since.

Her amazing story is featured in this month's Inside Columbia Magazine:

http://www.insidecolumbia.net/6926/2011/12/real-inspiration/

After reading her story, I'm think you'll agree that her life is an amazing showcase

for God's grace, mercy, and power! -Granny Pam

Just Another Wacky Idea?

What could a teen girl do with $195.00? Well… she could buy a new iPod Touch or 200 songs on itunes. She could get some UGGS or a few pairs of Toms… or how about fifty trips to Taco Bell? However, that’s not what Kiona did when she began making money selling her WACKY Bandana Bandz bracelets last spring. We’ll never forget the day she came bursting into the Granny’s House office to tell us about her new, idea…

Kiona plopped into the big desk chair in the office at Granny’s House. As usual, she was proudly wearing her big afro puff like a crown, as she excitedly showed off the new bracelet she’d just learned to make using frayed strips of cotton bandanas. “They’re just wacky,” she said with a giggle. “I think I’ll call them that... ‘WACKY!’”

Thus began Kiona’s pocket-sized business venture: “WACKY Bandana Bandz.” With a fifty-dollar investment from her summer job savings, and advice from two smart, business-minded Granny’s House volunteers, her “WACKY” bracelets created a buzz at school, with friends lining up and emailing to find out where they could get one of those bright, braided bracelets embellished with the zany snarl of knots. When she had to come up with $150 in spending money for a mission trip to Jamaica this summer, she handily made more than double that amount in less than two weeks selling her whimsical wristbands.

For months, her little bracelet business kept spending money in her pockets as news of her “WACKY” idea spread like wildfire by word-of-mouth at school and church. But, early on, Kiona wanted to do more than just make money. She wanted to use her bracelets to make a difference - to be able to “give back.” That’s’ when “Kiona-the-Entrepreneur” morphed into “Kiona-the-Philanthropist,” challenging Mizzou sororities to compete to win money for their chosen charity. She agreed to donate seventy-five cents per bracelet to the philanthropy of the sorority that purchased the most bracelets.

“I was so excited when Kiona told me she wanted to do an MU sorority challenge, says Kimberly Johnson, a Granny’s House volunteer. “The fact that she thought to give part of the proceeds to the sorority’s philanthropy speaks to her heart for giving.”

Making appointments to “Dinner Speak” at half a dozen or so sorority houses, she began to fulfill her dream of raising money to benefit others. One of our chief goals at Granny’s House is for the children to see themselves as ‘Victors” instead of victims...” as those who step up to the plate to give rather than waiting in line for a handout. Kiona has embraced that vision and is fleshing it out!

And the winner of the “WACKY Badana Bandz Philanthropy Challenge” is Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. They purchased 118 of the 256 bracelets sold to Mizzou sororities. That translates into $195.50 donated to their charity, True North, a local shelter for victims of domestic abuse.

Alpha Chi Omega Sorority member, Kristen Donnell, became a real fan of WACKY Bandz! “It was really encouraging to see all the panhellenic women on campus working so hard to win Kiona’s challenge to benefit their own philanthropy,” she said. “It was also cool for me to watch Kiona start a business out of nothing, and grow it into something successful so quickly and that it allows her to give back in a big way.”

Congratulations to Alpha Chi Omega Sorority and to Kiona for her WACKY idea!

Meet the New GH Interns

This semester, Granny's House has three interns. With varying backgrounds and majors, we're excited for the unique skills and experiences each of them bring. Take a moment to meet our Fall 2011 interns...

Kristin Schmitz

Major: Social Work

Grad Date: December 2011

Hometown: St. Louis, MO

Q. What are you hoping to get from your internship with Granny’s House?

A. “Experience with kids. Last year, I did a Way with Words and Numbers, but that was just tutoring. I want to get more experience socializing and identifying with them.”

Q. What has been the most surprising thing about Granny's House so far?

A. “How much everyone does outside of Granny's House…like they (the staff) are always running around doing things for the kids. I learned how much of a family it really is.”

Ana Schweitzer

Major: Nursing

Grad Date: December 2011

Hometown: St. Louis

Q. What attracted you to Granny’s House?

A. I heard about it a while ago and it sounded like fun. I thought it would be interesting and provide variety.”

Q. What are you hoping to get from your internship with Granny’s House?

A. “Better understanding of the lower income population – socially and healthcare wise.”

Q. What has been the most surprising thing about Granny's House so far?

A. “The programs within Granny’s House (i.e. CALEB, Princess Academy). It’s great that they get to have some type of classes and get to develop with their peers and feel special.”

Kimberly Johnson Anderson

Major: Business Management

Grad Date: May 2012

Hometown: Kansas City, MO

Q. What made you want to intern at Granny's House?

A. “I’ve been volunteering at Granny’s House for about a year and a half. I love the kids and everything Granny's House stands for. I figured what better way to get more experience in the nonprofit sector while enhancing the relationships I’ve built.”

Q. What are you going to be working on this semester at Granny’s House?

A. I’ll still be doing normal volunteer things such as tutoring, helping with meals, and spending time with the kids, but I’ll also be more involved with the programming for the G.I.R.L.S. and increasing the online presence of Granny’s House through blog and Facebook.”

Q. What’s your favorite thing about Granny’s House?

A. “I don’t know if I could narrow it down to just one thing… Possibly seeing the kids grow and develop. I’ve been at Granny’s House for a relatively short time, but I’ve gotten to see God do some amazing things in the lives of these children.”

CPR is as Easy as ABC...

During the September session of CALEB the Science Club, Granny's House kids and other Columbia youth learned the basics of CPR and first aid. The MU chapter of Student National Medical Association (SNMA) led the workshop. Although cardiopulmonary resuscitation might sound a little intimidating, the children learned it was as easy as airway, breathe, circulation.

Pictures to come...

CALEB the Science Club is an extracurricular academic program hosted by the University of Missouri-Columbia that involves students at all levels. Although there is a very important emphasis on the middle-school age, students at higher levels of education are actively involved. The older students help to nurture the younger ones, providing extremely valuable input while gaining invaluable mentoring experience themselves. Usually there are Medical and Premedical students in attendance. Their presence models what the younger students can achieve.

For more information, visit the CALEB the Science Club website.

KAA-2011!

It's that time of year again! Tomorrow morning 31 Granny's House youth and 6 Granny's House staff and volunteers will travel to Golden Missouri to take part in an amazing week at Kids Across America camp! Please pray for safety (especially in this heat), changed hearts, and a TON of fun! We can't wait to update you when we get back!!!

Another Granny's House Super Mom...

We first met Melissa, thirty-one-year-old mother of five, when she moved across the street from Granny’s House nearly three years ago. She ran a tight ship at home, expecting good grades, on-time homework assignments, finished chores, and respect for grown ups.

It wasn’t until she came over to help us plant flowers at Granny’s, however, that we got to know, not only “Melissa-as-Mom,” but “Melissa-as-History Buff.”

“I love watching the History Chanel,” she said, “cause that’s where I learned how all the states got their shapes.” While scooping black dirt and fertilizer pellets into flower pots, she talked and talked and we got a taste of her keen intellect and desire to make things better for her family.

I began wondering just how far she’d gone in school, but wasn’t quite sure how to broach the subject. I finally took a chance and asked, “Hey, you’re so smart! Have you ever considered going to college?”

She had, in fact, considered the prospect of college but, first, had to conquer the GED, she said. She enrolled in GED classes a few weeks later, and passed the GED exam not quite a year after the day we planted flowers together. Unlike her stint in high school, this time around, she loved it:

“It’s as if my desire to learn went from fifteen miles an hour to a hundred and fifty miles an hour…I so loved soaking it all up.”

She obviously soaked up a lot while at Douglass High’s GED classes. She was an exceptional student and was asked to give the student speech at graduation. In her speech, she told of her attempt to return to school with the responsibility of a new baby - the difficulty of balancing homework assignments and late evening work at a car wash:

“Most eleventh graders had lots of time to hang out with girlfriends, but not me…

All that came to a screeching halt when I had the baby.”

Now, Melissa can hardly wait to enroll in classes at Columbia College this fall:

“When I was in elementary school, I used to dream about going to college. I always wanted to make my parents proud… Now I want to go to make my kids proud.”

Congratulations Friend!! We’re so proud of you!!

I still remember my first day- Jon Moe

Jon Moe. A tall, lanky, blonde kid who was just beginning his college career at Mizzou. He was an instant hit with the kids, and for sure, one of the most effective male volunteers we've ever had!

I’ll never forget the day that I stood watching Jon from the dining room window as He arrived at Granny’s House. What I saw melted my heart! As Jon got out of his car, one of the kids ran, with outstretched arms, to meet him. Jon greeted that kid by picking him up, swinging him around just like a lot of dads do with their small children. For years, something like this happened every time Jon came to Granny’s House. Here are some of Jon's memories from his days as Granny's House Volunteer:

What Do You Remember About Your Time at Granny’s House?

“I remember the first time that one of the kids called me ‘Daddy.’ I was both pleased and proud, but also deeply grieved. I only volunteered one day a week, but apparently even that much consistent male presence classified me as a father figure.”

“I also remember picking up one of the kids and taking them to Cosmo Park with another volunteer on a Saturday. It was so much fun to see how excited this kid was. They had been looking forward to the outing for the whole week and talked about it all the next week.”

How Does Volunteering at Granny's House Impact Lives?

“It’s especially important for men to volunteer and to provide at least a taste of what having a father is like. You may just be able to point these precious kids to their "Real Father." Bringing joy to a child's heart is one of the most enjoyable things I think we can do this side of heaven!”

What Are You Doing Now?

After graduating from Mizzou, I moved to Minnesota to work as an engineer. I am married and have a toddler son…

Do You Have A Prayer For Granny’s House?

“I pray that God will continue to use Granny's House to radically change lives - the lives of the volunteers, the kids, and their families. I pray that Granny's House will continue to be salt and light, spread liberally, and shining brightly in the projects of Columbia…”

Granny's House Store!

One of our goals at Granny's House, is to teach the kids that hard work...equals provision. They all have such amazing gifts and talents, and we want to show them that they can use those gifts to glorify God through their work!

Because of this, for the past few months, the kids have been earning "points" at Granny's House by cleaning, taking out trash or helping with random chores we might have. Their points are posted on a wall, and everytime they complete a task, points are awarded!

Recently, the children were given "paychecks" based on their points, which could be "cashed in" for Granny's House dollars to be used in a Granny's House store! The store featured toys, clothes, balls, and several household items, and the kids were really excited to purchase items for themselves using their hard earned cash!

We are hoping to provide a store every month for the kids!!!

Granny's House kids in Jamaica!

Three Granny's House youth (Kenny, Kiona and Starr) are currently on a Mission Trip in Jamaica! We are so excited for them, and can't wait to hear all about their amazing experiences! Feel free to follow their trip on the "Won by One" website which will post photos each night of their daily adventures! Click on the "Crossing Church" photo and you will see what they are up to!!