Every day there are children in Knoxville that wake up searching for someone to meet their emotional and social needs. They are looking for proof that someone cares about them. For many of these children there is not a significant adult in their life to fill that void, and that is where Kids Hope steps in. Our program at Beaumont Elementary establishes a one-on-one relationship with a caring adult and at-risk child through a supportive, mentoring relationship.

Each Kids Hope mentor spends one hour per week investing in a child, but many of our mentors go above and beyond by taking a personal interest in the child’s home life as well. One such mentor, Tammy, has been with her “little”, Ahjanique, for two years. They have shared many things together, but this year has held new challenges in Ahjanique’s home life. Tammy shares their story below.

“It has been great to work with Ahjanique again this year. She is such a blessing, always thinking of others before herself.  We usually do fun things on our visits as she is very smart. Her biggest challenge this year has been adjusting to a new little sister. The baby has her days and nights backwards so she keeps Ahjanique up really late. Additionally, her mother puts the baby in the bed with Ahjanique so she can get rest for work the next day.

Needless to say, with all of the added responsibility Ahjanique has been very sleepy and has not taken care of herself as she did last year. So most days we spend time talking about personal hygiene, how important it is to take care of ourselves and the significance of getting as much rest as possible.

I truly appreciate all of the prayers from Kids Hope and Faith Promise Church. Please keep them up, I know they are working!”

One hour a week may not seem like much, but that amount of time is making a difference in the lives of students at Beaumont Elementary. While many people talk about how to fix the problems facing our children today, Kids Hope mentors, like Tammy, are putting action behind their words and changing lives – One Child, One Hour, One School at a time.