Every student in the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District will start the new year with a clean slate on lunch debt, thanks to the generosity of a local church. The Summit Church paid the debt for every student lunch account in the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District.
Volunteers from the church have been serving regularly at Lee’s Summit Elementary for more than 15 years. The partnership includes providing reading partners; lunch buddies; and funding for rent, utilities and food, as well as meeting the needs of families each Christmas.
Daphne Mack, Lee’s Summit Elementary school counselor, served as the lead to find a way for the church to bless families throughout the district. On the weekend of December 14-15, a special offering was collected at The Summit Church. The proceeds of that offering provided the $18,950.28 needed to pay the lunch debt for every student in the district.
“This is a blessing for our students and families,” said Rexanne Hill, executive director of student support. “’Thank you!’ is not enough to show how grateful we are for your generosity”.
The Summit Church spends more than $200,000 each year to reach out to people in the community and around the world. This year, the church’s Summit Lunch Program provided more than 12,000 lunches to hungry kids during the summer months. The church also provided groceries to prepare a Thanksgiving meal for 1,800 people and packed more than 30,000 meals to be shipped to feeding centers around the world.
“Out of all the things we do to make a difference in our community, meeting the practical needs of families is the closest to the heart of our mission. It’s through our generosity to others that we truly live out Jesus’ instruction to love our neighbors as ourselves,” executive pastor Ryan Schreckenghaust said. “Christmas is a little brighter for some Lee’s Summit families this year thanks to some people in the community who want to give others a solid foundation to begin a new year.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
