Several months ago, the Downtown 2 Silver Spring Community Group did some vision casting together, and one major takeaway was that the group desired to do more consistent outreach as a community in Silver Spring. Our CG ultimately decided to focus on serving, loving, & building a relationship with Harmony Hills Elementary (a title I school in Silver Spring), by 1) getting involved in their Linkages to Learning program, which serves vulnerable families at the school, and 2) blessing the school staff. Thankfully, one of our members is a teacher at Harmony Hills, which has made this partnership a really great fit. 

Last fall, we began participating in Family Market Nights, which are hosted monthly at Harmony Hills by Linkages to Learning. During Market Nights, families at the school have the opportunity to “shop” for free donated fresh produce & nonperishables. Our CG assists with these monthly events by helping organize & set up the donated produce, greeting & supervising families as they shop for groceries, & cleaning up. This event has been a great rhythm for our CG members to take turns participating in each month. 

In January, our CG also redid the Harmony Hills Teacher’s Lounge. This was truly a group effort! Each member of our CG got involved in some way, whether in the planning & shopping phase, writing encouraging notes to teachers to leave in the lounge, cleaning the lounge, assembling furniture, donating items, or decorating the space. 

Thanks to a generous grant from The Well & item donations from CG members, we were able to furnish a new comfy seating area, stock the lounge with snacks/drinks, decorate the space, & purchase a new TV, keurig, electric tea kettles, toaster oven, & more! The school staff were thrilled with the transformation, & are now eager to spend time together in the lounge (a space that was previously avoided & neglected). Many have asked about The Well since we redid the lounge, have written us thank you notes, and one staff member even plans on visiting the church for a Sunday service soon. We hope to continue loving on the teacher staff here long term; next up, our CG plans to serve a teacher breakfast in the updated lounge space. Please pray for this new relationship to grow, for our CG to continue to be engaged in this work, & ultimately for more people to know & love our awesome God.