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BY CARRIE MADREN
UMCONNECTION CORRESPONDENT

Terry Bonnevier teaches marketing and business administration at the local high school, but she's also in the business of helping Leonardtown's kids rise above their circumstances.

Her church, First Saints Community Church, a United Methodist congregation in Leonardtown, had been running a reading room in the Leonard's Freehold community for more than six years in a small, rented space where children could get books, play games, use a computer and play.

"A lot of them come from low income backgrounds, most live with only one parent, Bonnevier said of the community's children.

"Often, the parent is working a great deal to make ends meet so the parent is not there to help with homework," she said.

That's where her team of volunteers stepped in: to help kids get their homework done, and have a little fun in a safe place. Last year, they often shuttled kids to the church for tutoring and homework sessions.

"I knew we weren't reaching as many kids as we could reach if we were closer," said Bonnevier, who's been a reading room volunteer for some five years.

So the Southern Maryland church considered how to accommodate growing homework-help sessions. A bigger space was needed, and preferably one closer to the Leonard's Freehold community.

They found a small building that the kids could walk to.

Just after Labor Day, the new Educational Outreach Center opened its doors. August had been a month of recruiting some 22 volunteers.

Now, kids who need homework help get it four afternoons a week. Bonnevier said a few of her students attend the after-school sessions.

A typical afternoon brings three to a dozen students, with about three or four volunteers to help.

The volunteers guide students through all kinds of homework from reading to math to Spanish.

"One young lady had to type up a report, and we have one laptop with a printer," Bonnevier said. "Most of these kids don't have access to a computer at home."

Results are evident, Bonnevier said. "We've had kids raise their grades."

But more important than raising grades is volunteers building relationships with the students. "Through this program we've gotten kids to come to Sunday school and come to other events like Vacation Bible School," she said.

Many other opportunities can be accomplished at the new center. "The bigger goal is not just to focus on kids but to have programs for adults, offering help with resumes or interviews, teaching computer skills," Bonnevier said.

Such classes will likely start in early spring 2009.

The church's vision expands even wider to one day sponsor free nutrition classes, budget counseling and more.

"Terry has been involved in this outreach for several years and the opening of this center is but a stepping stone toward her vision of truly touching our community in important ways," wrote associate pastor Keith Schukraft.

While the church's other ministries have team leaders to make programs run smoothly, Bonnevier's invested her own time and talents to the Leonard's Freehold community.

"The kids know I'm a presence here, they know they can come to me," said Bonnevier, who herself came from a poor household and succeeded with hard work and opportunities given by others.

"Every child should have a chance to be successful and know that they can be just as successful as everyone else."