Summer with Stepping Stones

A couple of weeks ago we had our first family BBQ for our Young Families in Surrey. I loved walking into Hawthorne Park and seeing many familiar faces. The park was alive with kids playing in the water park while their parents were catching up with staff and volunteers. There were lots of hugs, laughter and a few quiet, serious conversations at the picnic tables.  I’m sure for anyone walking by the picnic tables it would look like any normal family BBQ.

As I’ve watched Stepping Stones grow over the past 10 years, I have become increasingly aware that we are family for the many young moms, kids and dads. We are less of a “program” and more of moms, dads, sisters, brothers and grandparents. We desire to see young families develop a healthy deeper relationship with God, each other, and our community at Stepping Stones. We’re here long term: celebrating milestones, mourning over losses together, and walking through the messiness of life. 

I believe this is the model that God longs for all of us. In a world where nothing seems to last and loyalty is undervalued, I believe we need to be family for each other more than ever.

Cherise, one of our youth workers, exudes this quality well. Her role over the past 7 years has been significant in helping develop the “culture of family” at Stepping Stones. She is usually the first person a new mom will connect with and we trust that new mom will feel instantly loved and welcomed.

One young mother who stopped by the BBQ shared with me how much Cherise has meant to her over the years. She’s a busy single mom who works hard to provide for her son, and not as available to come out to weekly programs any more, but stays in contact with Cherise and some of the other young moms. She shared that she was having a tough week, and knew she could call Cherise for support. Cherise dropped everything and made herself available. As we were chatting, this young mom threw her arm around Cherise and with tears in her eyes said to me, “I honestly don’t know what I would have done without Cherise this week!”

I’m thankful we have become family at Stepping Stones and Stepping Up.  I am also thankful for many of you who have partnered with us for many years. We have been in the community of Surrey for over 15 years and are praying for many more.

Kellie Brown.

Cherise with one of our families at a Stepping Stones event today!

Always lots of food at our family BBQ's

Eating dinner with the kids

Real Change.

Vancity & Stepping Stones partner together to break generational cycles of poverty through meaningful employment.

While many of us may dread the sound of our alarm clocks on a Monday morning, most can appreciate the degree to which our work, the ability to and the opportunity for work affects our lives for the better. Our jobs provide the very practical means to care for our families, they give us the sense of purpose and progress we need to feel productive and they connect us to a community outside of our own. Work matters. Good work matters a lot.

Breaking cycles of financial, emotional and spiritual poverty is no small task. Being a young parent, the challenges  to overcoming poverty can seem even more insurmountable. There's so much to learn, do, pay for and attend to that it can 

feel almost impossible to ever get ahead. Giving our young moms and dads meaningful opportunities to earn a living, provide for their family and plan for the future is a critical component of breaking this cycle. 

The Guilford Branch of Vancity has stepped up as a champion of Young Families and we are so thankful. Starting immediately they are partnering with us in the hope to hire a new thrive grad every 6 months. We have already started with one grad officially training as Vancity employee right now and are so thankful for this relationship. This opportunity will give the Thrive graduates the experience and opportunity they need to continue healing, growing and giving back.

If you would like to learn more about our how you can hire a Thrive Grad or a Young Dad, or have the name of a business we could approach to help support our programs, we'd love to hear from you. Thank You for your continued support of our young moms and dads.