Campers arrived at the mansion on Monday. They spent time settling in and began training for the Redlands Bicycle Classic on a course developed by the Rochford Foundation and the city.

The camp’s theme was modeled after a Race for a Purpose concept and taken directly from the Bible, said Dianna Lawson, a program coordinator for the nonprofit.

More than 20 children are participating in the Bicycle Classic, scheduled April 3 through 7. The event doubled as an opportunity to get the organization’s team ready for the event and provide motivation.

Christ In Action, Lawson and organizers put together a schedule of additional events to keep participants busy throughout the camp.

Among the activities available were arts and crafts, learning new song and scripture, breakfast preparation under the guidance and support of local chef Lee Burton and an evening around the campfire with a special guest on Tuesday evening.

“I was going over instructions and up comes Jack Sparrow with a compass and a map. `Do you know where my treasure is?’ he asks, and the kids freaked out,” Lawson said. “The little ones went on a treasuring hunting event with him around the mansion. We were all traipsing around the dark, searching for clues.”

The man who portrayed Sparrow volunteered his time and was provided by the If The Shoe Fits Character Co. free of charge, Lawson said.

Lawson said that not only was it a lively couple of days, but the camp may be the only vacation many of the Micah House children will have.

“It was so wonderful to see this pulled together with a theme and activities that we were able to do together,” she said. “We’re together a lot at the Micah House Program, so we kind of have a really sweet family atmosphere already. But to live together for 2 days, and to eat, sleep and play, it was just the best memories for me.

“It was just a real positive thing for us.”

kristina.hernandez@inlandnewspapers.com, 909-259-9321, @TheFactsKris

12/10/2012 REDLANDS

Residents of Mission Commons in Redlands were treated to a sing-a-long and storytelling by members of Micah House Monday at the retirement facility.

Residents of Mission Commons were treated to some holiday cheer Monday, as children from Micah House led an afternoon of song and readings to celebrate the season. The non-profit organization partnered with the Redlands retirement community to hold the event, which doubled as a way for Micah House children to give back and celebrate the holidays.

More than a dozen Micah House members, comprised of junior and high school-aged children, were bused to Mission Commons where they sat in chairs set up in a common room of the site waiting for residents to arrive.

Once settled, the singing began.

With songbooks in hand, Dianna Lawson, a program coordinator with Micah House, introduced each song before the voices of holiday cheer flowed through Mission Commons.

Monday’s event was the first time Micah House held a holiday-themed event at the site, said Lawson, adding that all her children were on board with the idea.

“I was very excited the children were willing to do this. And they are giving back, but I think they’re receiving more than they’re giving right now,” she said. “Having all those seniors sit there and sing those songs along side them, and hearing their voices and having them respond so positively to the children is making great memories. And that is what I wanted to have happened.”

Those in attendance had smiles on their faces each time Lawson kicked off each song. Among the classics performed were “Frosty the Snowman” and “Silent Night.”

“For the seniors, (this event) brings back a lot of memories. It engages them to think about their memories and think about their family times,” said Patti Radovick, activities director for Mission Commons. “Children and animals are the two things that really get them going. Any time we can get children and animals in here, they’re here.”

Mission Commons and Micah House are hoping to hold more collaborating events, including a bean bag baseball game in early 2013.

The retirement community also donated goods for the non-profit organization’s recent shopping event where Micah House children used points they earned throughout the year to “buy” gifts for family members.

Kristina Hernandez, Staff Writer

Posted: 12/10/2012 07:12:38 PM PST

Reach Kristina via email, call her at 909-793-3221, or on Twitter @TheFactsKris

Join us at Rubio’s Sunday, March 17 at Rubio’s for a good cause! Dine at Rubio’s, take food to go, or pick up a Rubio’s a-Go-Go Catering order and Rubio’s will donate 20% of your purchase to Micah House!  Be sure to print the flyer!

Join us Thursday, November 8 at 3:30 pm as we dedicate our new garden at Micah House Chapel, 611 Chapel, Redlands.

Changing Reality - Read my story

The Reality Changers program at Micah House is designed to foster interest in higher education and encourage students to pursue long term occupations and careers. It started this past year and has seen very positive experiences, either through our regular guest speakers or field trips.

One of our favorite field trips took place at the Loma Linda Simulation Center. The Medical Simulation Center (MSC) is a state-of-the-art virtual hospital located on the 4th floor of the complex and can simultaneously accommodate 16 simulations. Each of the center’s training areas is designed to reflect the realities encountered in actual care settings, and is fully functional.

Our host, Dr. Kent Denmark, guided us through the Simulation Center, stopping in each room to observe and participate in the interactive medical simulations. One room was designed to simulate a disaster and students were quickly given the task to “rescue patients” trapped underneath rubble and transfer them to an ambulance waiting nearby. From there our patient was examined in another room with students frantically administering first aid and prepping available medical equipment. Then the students were tasked with examining a patient in a dentist’s office, delivering a newborn baby and several other task jobs within the medical profession.

After the tour, the students enjoyed pizza and a debrief back at the Micah House. The many different professions witnessed at MSC were discussed. Students researched the educational requirement of each job, the average salary, and the requirements needed in order to become a nurse, paramedic, or even a brain surgeon. Several Micah House students had already considered studying to be pediatricians while other students were a little “weirded out” by the life-like dummies used.

The trip was a great success. The students were able to gain exciting first-hand knowledge about many different professions, whether it was a paramedic who is first to the scene of an emergency to the pediatrician who follows a child’s health through their teenage years. The students were given a view of the wide variety of the possibilities available to them after high school.

For more info on Reality Changers click here.

Check out our photos!

Check out our pictures from our 2012 Annual Block Party!

Endless Possibilities - Find out by Volunteering

Sandy Adrian, Micah House Volunteer

In a world of video games, cell phones, TV, sports, Wii, and parents that are learning  to speak English, the majority of kids today would rather do anything but read. The literacy program at Micah house has brought in such a wonderful awareness of how fun reading can be. Over the past two years, I have been privileged to work with 4 students each week. At first, most of the students did not like reading. Some days were frustrating and tedious for both the students and myself. At the end of a 30-minute period we would reward ourselves with a small piece of candy. The literacy specialist Hannah taught me how to use many of the wonderful resources that were available to keep them going, making learning to read more enjoyable.

What a joy to see progress as student’s reading levels came up.  More delightful is to hear the students who would never stop at a period, running words together and not making any sense of a sentence now stopping at periods, reading with expression, voice inflections of the different characters…in other words, they comprehend what they are reading and are engaged in the story!

Once a student can sound words out, they can read out loud making few mistakes. However, comprehension has been the biggest challenge. Comprehension has been my focus with one of my small reading groups.  We discuss what words mean.   Pictures can say a thousand words, but a word can describe a whole picture. Each time I meet with the students I always tell them, “If you can read, you can learn anything.” These kids are not going to be left behind or pushed through the system if they’re not able to read. With help students are getting at Micah House, God has given them hope for their futures. Micah House is a family. I am so grateful to be a part of this family and to see the Lord at work there. God has so richly blessed us. We are experiencing the overflow of His love changing the lives of children, volunteers, students, and staff.

Matt Dopson of The Power Team gives a motivational speech to kids Thursday at the Micah House in Redlands. (John Valenzuela/Staff Photographer)

8/23/2012 REDLANDS  Ariana Fuentes was impressed.

The girl, one of the children at Micah House, an after-school ministry for youth in North Redlands, was impressed when the phone book was split apart and impressed when the baseball bat was snapped in half.

“It was cool, really very cool,” Ariana said after she and her friends were visited by Matt Dopson, an inspirational speaker and a member of the Power Team. “I loved it. I think him talking to us was cool and it was cool that he was so big and strong.”

Dopson — a member of a traveling team of strong men who deliver inspirational and motivational presentations to young people of all ages — spent about an hour reaching out to the Micah House children – encouraging them to think positively, to believe in themselves and to never give up in anything.

“I try to encourage young kids,” said Dopson, who spent two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons but now is in his 11th year with the Power Team. “I want them to see the best they can be and to see that they can get anything out of life.”

Dopson added, “I want them to be aware of their choices and I want them to be successful in everything they do.”

The Power Team was scheduled to host an event at the University of Redlands’ Orton Center on Thursday evening that was to feature Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar.

“We are normally at schools with 2- and 3,000 kids,” Dopson said. “This is more of an intimate setting. It’s always better like this.”

Dopson said the Power Team visits between 800 and 1,000 schools every year.

“Do I ever get tired? Yes,” Dopson said. “But it never gets old. There are always different faces, always different kids. If it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t be doing what I was doing.”

The Power Team’s visit to Micah House was a last-minute decision.

“For them to come to us was totally not planned,” said Dianna Lawson, the Micah House program coordinator. “It just happened. But it was good.”

Cody Garcia, 9, stepped up and helped Dopson tear the phone book in half as his mother watched from the back of the room.

“Just to have him talk to the kids and tell them to believe in themselves was good,” Cody’s mother, Entrituta Ponce, said. “It was a good message.”

Ed Castro, Staff Writer, Redlands Daily Facts

Volunteers Christa Peterson (left) and Lisa Curtis hand out backpacks full of school supplies. (John Valenzuela/Staff Photographer)

8/4/2012 REDLANDS – Kids had their hands full on Saturday.

The day began at sunrise when 60 children lined up at the doors of Kohl’s Department Store to take part in a shopping spree hosted by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Redlands – they were fed breakfast and then given $100 gift cards they used to buy back-to-school clothes and other supplies.

Later that morning, hundreds of kids and their families strolled up and down Oxford Avenue to take part in the annual Micah House block party – almost 700 kids were given free backpacks filled with school supplies.

“I thought it went great,” said Kohl’s manager Ray Ojeda. “I know our associates and our volunteers were real happy. This is for the children and we gave them an experience they won’t ever forget. It was just such a great feeling in the morning.”

Celina Stroud, 6, of Redlands, checks out her new backpack. (John Valenzuela/Staff Photographer)

Kohl’s brought in volunteers from its other stores to help. In addition to the gift cards, Kohl’s also provided family discounts and tax relief coupons.

In all, the kids spent no money on their items.

“Everything was so exciting,” said Andrea Lodato, a store manager at Kohl’s. “It was really great to see the community come together like this. It was awesome.”

Kids picked backpacks, lunchboxes, shoes and other basics.

“It literally was like watching kids in a candy store,” Ojeda said.

It was the seventh straight year for the Micah House block party.

And all it took was one passionate gesture to put it all into perspective.

Joshua English, 8, had the winning raffle ticket, and he left with a bicycle.

But he chose one for his 10-year-old sister – her name is Heaven.

“Yea, she might go crazy,” Joshua said.

The bike was pink. She’ll like it.

“I think she will say `thank you,’ Joshua said.

It was the kind of gesture that made the effort worthwhile, especially for Diana Lawson – one of the program coordinators at Micah House.

“This year is real special,” Lawson said. “It’s a block party and there are kids, parents and volunteers. We are blessed at many levels. We aren’t just handing out backpacks. We are having a full-on party.”

The theme of the block party was `back to school’ and 650 backpacks filled with school supplies were given away free.

“We want to celebrate that they are going back to school,” said David Wilson, Micah House director. “We wanted to honor them and challenge them to do better things. We gave them a backpack filled with school supplies because we want them to succeed. We want do anything we can inspire the kids to want to do good in school.”

The block party featured various forms of entertainment: there was a DJ, a team of mimes from the High Desert and a puppet show. The Redlands Police Department raffled off 10 bicycles.

“We spend a lot of time loving this community because that is what these people need,” Wilson said. “Events like this where you have so many people volunteering demonstrates where (the) greater Redlands area really shows it cares about the community. It’s a real blessing.”

Ed Castro, Staff Writer

Set-Up: Arrive early and set up the tents, tables, chairs, stage etc. for the event

Clean-Up: Arrive near end of event to dismantle all elements and ensure community is clean

Hospitality: Welcome guests, guide volunteers, maintain water stations, etc.

Vendor/Booth Coordination: Supervise bounce house

School Supply Distribution: (Backpacks)

1. Stuff the backpacks (Wednesday & Thursday at Micah House Oxford)
2. Distribute backpacks at the event 

Evangelism: Prayer booth, spiritual conversations at tables, engage people in discussions while in line, etc.

If you are interested in helping in any of these areas please contact:

Lisa VanGreuningen
Block Party Volunteer Coordinator
(909) 335-7333, x111
lvang@trinityonline.org

If you would like to shop for a backback and supplies, you can print the shopping list from here.