FUMC Hurst Named Outstanding Nonprofit Adopter for 2019-2020

Sep 3, 2020 | by Rev.Matt Ybanez

For more than 30 years, FUMC Hurst has been unwavering in its commitment to the students and educators in our community. More recently that support has grown into a formal adoptive relationship through HEB ISD’s Adopt-A-School program. While we started all of this with Bellaire Elementary more than 30 years ago, today, we adopt: Bellaire Elementary, Harrison Lane Elementary, Donna Park Elementary, Wilshire Elementary, Hurst Junior High, and LD Bell High School, and last year for the first time, FUMC Hurst became a district-wide adopter because of our gifts to the HEB ISD Education Foundation (https://www.hebisdedfoundation.org/community-partners-and-supporters).

As our resources to support schools grew, our Adopt-A-School ministry team identified a desire to apply those funds in the areas that would create the greatest opportunities for students to succeed. We considered offering a grant/scholarship program for teachers and schools around us, but knew we were ill-equipped to develop such a program on our own. Thankfully, the HEB ISD Education Foundation  had already developed grant programs for this exact purpose. In 2019, we committed $15,000 over three years to fund Empowered to Excel Grants for teachers and schools in HEB ISD. This summer, our church made the second installment of $5,000 on this commitment. To date, the Education Foundation has raised and awarded more than $1,040,000 to our deserving HEB ISD classrooms and campuses through direct grants, funding a diverse array of needs identified by educators.

Funding these grants is just one of the many ways our church partners with our Adopt-A-Schools. We still do the Christmas Shopping spree, collect schools supplies, provide weekend feeding backpacks to hungry students at two schools, fulfill teacher wish lists, and support educators in every way possible (don’t forget the thousands of hotdogs we’ve made). This growth, led by our Adopt-A-School team, led to HEB ISD recognizing our church as an Outstanding Nonprofit Adopter for 2019-2020. 

This year, things have looked a little different, but on multiple occasions when our schools have needed something, they’ve called us first because they’ve learned they can depend on FUMC Hurst. This is all because of your commitment to education in our community. Thank you for your faithfulness and generosity.