On the corner of Bedell Avenue and North Donahue Drive sits a seemingly quiet gray house. At 2:30 p.m., the house awakens as numerous children from the Ridgecrest community arrive after school with looks of excitement on their faces.
Our House is a Christian-based ministry whose mission is to “strive to show the love of Jesus to children and their families in the community, and to provide a Christ centered, home environment in which they can grow spiritually, academically, and socially,” according to its website. It is a place for children in the Ridgecrest community to come and enjoy a healthy snack while they read, play and work on their homework after school.
Our House includes a study room complete with computers and Internet access and a well-stocked library with books ranging from “Horton Hears a Who!” by Dr. Seuss to the "Divergent" series by Veronica Roth.
The idea came when Our House director and visionary Rene Waldrop heard about a similar ministry located in Tuscaloosa. Waldrop said she would visit the kids in the Ridgecrest community often, but she really wanted to have a place where she could see them on a regular basis. In April 2014, Waldrop and her husband bought what would soon become the Our House location.
“We named it Our House because we wanted the kids to feel ownership of it and for it to seem like their home,” Waldrop said.
Rene opened Our House for two days a week during the summer, but officially opened the doors for the school year in August 2014.
The 2015 school year will be Our House’s second year helping the children in the Ridgecrest community. Waldrop said the ministry has a great relationship with the surrounding schools and is notified of the upcoming tests and projects the kids need to prepare for.
This summer, Our House added summer camps to its program. The ministry had cheer, art, backyard Bible, science and nutrition and fitness camps that included Zumba classes.
“I really enjoyed seeing the kids grow in each of the camps we put on this summer, specifically Camp I-care and the science camps,” summer intern Emily Wilhite said. “The kids were stretched and engaged in ways that never would have been a possibility without Our House and all the donors and volunteers that participated to help make it happen. Our House is the most special place/home for these kids. I was just so incredibly blessed to be a part of it.”
Volunteers from campus ministries and Auburn University come each week to play and help the kids do their homework.
“I like coming and being able to see progress not only academically but also in the relationships with different volunteers and kids,” volunteer Mary Beth McHugh said. “By the end of the semester, not only have they increased academically, but also in their relationships with each other and with us.”
Waldrop said she wishes there could be an Our House in every community and the amount of people that have donated gifts and kindness to Our House has truly been a great and wonderful blessing.
“I don’t have my own children, and I honestly feel like these are my kids," Waldrop said. "There really is so much joy in pouring into them and seeing the difference in their attitude when they know someone loves and cares about them. Just to know that the kids are going to school with confidence is great. It is just a different environment, just that positive Christian environment that makes such a difference.”
Our House is open Monday-Thursday from 2:30-5:30 p.m. For more information on Our House visit www.john1335.org or email ourhouseauburn@gmail.com.
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