Crossroads_Pics.pdf

By Harmony Hensley, Special Needs Team Leader

On Friday September 29^th, 2006, Crossroads Community Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, celebrated their first Respite Event for families of children with special needs. Crossroads Special Needs Team planned a huge respite Pajama Party, and invited the entire Special Needs community.

Members of the special needs team began planning the event three months earlier. They thought through the entire experience and tailored the event to meet the needs of families that would be invited. The team realized that many parents of special kids are statistically more likely experience financial strain and would not be able to afford a night out. The organizers decided to contact about 200 restaurants, seeking discounts for the night of the event. The goal was to have a list of 20 vendors that would offer special discounts for the parents. God provided, the community responded, and 22 vendors agreed to participate. Ten restaurants offered “blanket” discounts to anyone presenting a certificate showing they were part of the Respite Event. Twelve other restaurants donated gift cards, or dinner certificates. Three pizza companies donated a total of 70 pizzas to feed kids and volunteers for the evening. The team also compiled a list of things that were happening in the city including movie times, and art gallery openings.

The planning team realized that many of the kids that would be attending would have profound special needs, including some who would be considered “medically fragile”. A team of doctors and nurses recruited and volunteered to come and staff the event. The medical team, a huge blessing to the families, met parents at the registration table. It was wonderful to go room to room throughout the night seeing medically trained volunteers administering medications, and doing G-tube feedings. Having doctors and nurses on hand gave parents peace, knowing their kids would be in good hands for the evening.

The event went from 5:30 - 9:30 PM in order to ensure that parents had ample time to go to dinner, take in a movie, or go shopping. When parents arrived there was a team of volunteers to meet them curbside to and help them unload and get inside. After registration, parents were escorted to their kid’s rooms for the evening. Then they were walked back to the entryway where they met Parents working the “Parents Resource Booth”. There they learned about the Community Group for Parents of Children with Special Needs, as well as other services available within the community. They were then walked to the “Concierge” booth where they were briefed on events and restaurant offers for the evenings. Then the parents were off for a night on the town.

Kids were divided by age group and were each paired with a volunteer who was their buddy for the evening. Even the siblings of the special needs kids got a buddy for the evening to make them feel loved. The kids began their Pajama party with a pizza picnic with their new friends. Once the pizza was gone, kids were greeted by surprise guests Mr. Red (Mascot, Cincinnati Reds Baseball Team) and Caleb Miller (Linebacker, NFL Cincinnati Bengals). Each child got their picture taken with the celebrities and received an autographed cover from Sports Illustrated, featuring Caleb Miller. The kids were beyond thrilled! One little girl made a very special connection with Mr. Red. She was nonverbal and communicated through gesturing. Mr. Red is not allowed to speak while he is in costume, and communicates through gesturing as well. The little girl was so excited and intrigued by this mystery person who spoke her language. She followed him around the entire evening. Once he changed out of his costume, Mr. Red was visibly moved by his interaction with the little girl.

Once they met the celebrity guests the party really took off. The kids rotated between a music station, where they listened to a live band, to an art station, where they made fabric pajama people, and then wrapped up the evening with a Movie Marathon!

At the close of the evening, a team of greeters gathered to welcome the parents coming to pick up their children. The parents were escorted to their children’s rooms and then brought back to the Concierge Booth were they received a flower to cap the evening off.

One hundred and two kids attended the first ever Respite Event, with 56 of them having special needs. Of the total attending, only 13 were from Crossroads, with the remainder being kids who have never been to the church before! Many of the families learned of the event from the local news, where the outreach was featured twice in the weeks leading up to the event. (see www.wcpo.com - 9 On Your Kids Side Stories) There were 130 volunteers who staffed the event with some who drove two hours to volunteer at the event.

Parents were tearful as they left that night. Many of them hugged volunteers, shared their tearful stories, and thanked everyone for the break. It was very clear that these families where in need of the love of Jesus and Respite spoke that to them that Friday night. God moved in huge ways that night, and lives were changed, both in the families and the volunteers that served.

Summer_Fall_2006.pdf