WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS RECOGNIZE FAITH MISSION SUMMER SMART-CARE KIDS PROGRAM

  

Faith Mission’s Sensational Summer SMART-CARE Kids program was a featured guest at Tuesday’s Washington County Commissioners meeting.

Commissioners learned about some of the activities that local children took part in last month during the program, entitled Hidden Figures – Women in the World of Science and Math.  The program focused on providing cultural, academic and recreational enrichment to girls ages 6-12 from Brenham ISD.

One part of the experience was a visit to Brenham’s PlanNorth Architectural Company, where students learned about architectural design and got to use PlanNorth’s samples to create a design of their own.  PlanNorth Principal Architect Katie Burch said several of the students made note of the courthouse across the street from PlanNorth and shared their experiences inside the building, offering a unique perspective.

One of those students, Ava Spahn, came to commissioners to present her ideas for how she would want a new courthouse, specifically the court at the courthouse, to be designed.

After speaking, Spahn told the court “thank you” in English, Spanish, Swahili and Vietnamese, four languages that students learned about in the SMART-CARE curriculum.  County Judge John Durrenberger then invited her to take his seat behind the commissioners’ desk and wield his gavel, becoming “County Judge of the Day”. 

Commissioner Candice Bullock thanked Spahn for sharing her input, saying the county wants to be accommodating to everyone who comes to the courthouse, from adults to young ones.

Faith Mission Executive Director Reverend Randy Wells said over the course of 18 years, Faith Mission has expanded to serve children throughout Washington County with programs such as SMART-CARE Kids.  Other activities the students took part in included service at High Hope Care Center of Brenham, cosmetology lessons at Evvaylois Academy School of Beauty in Brenham, and trips to Texas A&M RELLIS Campus to learn about Blinn College’s nursing program, the Blinn-Bryan Campus Architectural Department for drones and robotics, the NASA Space Center and Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the Inner Space Cavern in Georgetown, plus several other recreational activities.

At the conclusion of the program, students presented what they learned over the month of June and were graduated by a circle of community elders, receiving tiaras and a rose.

Commissioner Kirk Hanath said the commissioners court appreciates how Faith Mission helps young people in the community by allowing them the opportunities to grow, innovate and use their talents to decide what Washington County will look like in the future.  Durrenberger said this program is just a small part of what Faith Mission does.