COMMUNITY PROJECT - BORN TO FLY

Born To Fly:
Children of Character Today, Soaring Leaders of Tomorrow



Hope Melbourne answers the call to be a ‘salt and light’ in the community. Born To Fly Kids’ Holiday Program has now been the fourth year running in the City of Monash and second year in Frankston. As new characters are being taught through a variety of activities such as skits, puppetry, songs, art & crafts, quizzes and games, this year’s focus were diligence and generosity.

http://www.borntoflykids.com/

It has been a year of many ‘firsts’ for the 2008 Born To Fly team. For Monash, it is the first time a full day Born To Fly program was held to cater to the needs of working parents in the community.

Born To Fly started with 60 children in 2005 at Albany Rise Primary School, grew to 120 children in 2006, 200 children in 2007 and now Born To Fly has grown to a size of more than 300 children this year!

It is the first time registrations had to close early due to bursting capacities. At Frankston, the number of children who attended Born To Fly grew from 15 children last year to 52 this year, with a large percentage of ‘walk-ins’ over the 3 days.




It is the first time Born To Fly was held at Brandon Park Community Centre. It is the first time we had the privilege of having a councillor;

• Councillor Charlotte Baines of Mulgrave who attended the celebratory lunch and gave away prizes to the children.

She was greatly impressed by the uniqueness and innovation of the program to deliver quality teaching to young lives and equally impressed by the passion seen in the volunteers. It is the first time all the songs were written by our very own team. It is the first time to volunteer at Born To Fly for many, and the first time we’ve had the support of volunteers from other churches who share the same passion to be ‘salt & light’ in the community.




Many parents and children have expressed their appreciation not just for the lovely time but also the positive impact the program has had on the children.

We received numerous testimonies of how parents saw tangible changes in their children’s self-confidence, attitudes such as positive speech, being quick to obey, being more helpful at home and a more joyful countenance since attending Born To Fly.

It was an incredibly joyous experience for all who gave selflessly, with hearts united in one purpose and vision. We could not have asked for better coordination and cooperation in the team.

Written by Eleanor Tan
http://www.hopemelbourne.com/