eXpand Family Literacy Program

eXpand is our church’s unique family literacy program designed to support the success of the whole family. Statistically, we know that children who do not read proficiently by the end of third grade are much more likely to leave school without a high school diploma. We can be a small part of helping students in our area avoid being part of that reality by providing an extra boost year over year.

With a focus on how to best support the community, we followed God’s lead to strengthen our program’s unique focus on serving the entire family, not just the students. Our weekly tutors, both educators and non-educators, faithfully show up ready and willing to help expand minds, our food team continues to expand community partnerships to provide the free meals, and our family enrichment team helps expand support and care for the whole family.

Throughout the school year, tutors, scholars and their families come in and eat together - parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and cousins. These meals always feature laughter, beautiful conversation, and an opportunity for families to take a deep breath and just be together.

During the tutoring, grown-ups and siblings venture down the hall for community engagement opportunities. These range from learning how to interpret a reading score report to planting daffodil bulbs to sharing skills with one another such as crocheting and scrapbooking -- all while exploring what parenting looks like in today’s world through conversation and relationship building. This is a space for learning and growth, but, more importantly, it’s a space for community, respite, and creativity.

We invite you to join us as we journey together. We are always looking for one-on-one weekly tutors, rotating food team members, set-up volunteers, and family enrichment leaders. If this sounds like fun, send an email to missions@fvumc.org.