Child & Family Outreach

We believe children and families should have access to quality education and basic needs in order to grow as the individuals God created them to be.

To help ensure this, we support families and students who reside in the 28208 zip code, in part through our partnership with Westerly Hills Academy. We provide food for the school food pantry, support staff at the schools, participate in high quality tutoring programs, and offer free quality summer camp programs.

Current Engagement Opportunities

Tutor a Student

Tutor an elementary school student once or twice a week with one of our partner organizations:  Heart Math, HELPS (Literacy Fluency) and Augustine Literacy Project.  Virtual and in-person options are available, and training, lessons and on-site support are provided. 

Support the Westerly Hills Food Pantry

Our food pantry at Westerly Hills Academy serves the entire Westerly Hills community. Sign up to provide food on a monthly basis or deliver food to Westerly Hills Academy. 

Support the City Bridge Afterschool Program

Our Partners

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Westerly Hills Academy

For more than twenty years, First Presbyterian Church has partnered with Westerly Hills Academy, located off of Wilkinson Boulevard. Our members support students and families by tutoring, providing a food pantry, holiday giving, and by supporting our summer camp programs (BellXcel and Camp Grier). In partnership with Presbyterian Women, First Presbyterian Church also provides staff appreciation gifts, meals, and holiday gifts for the hardworking teachers and staff at the school.

Core Church

Located less than one mile from Westerly Hills Academy, the Core Church is committed to serving the Westerly Hills community, with a particular interest in supporting education. Core Church hosts the Bridge Learning Center, which has served students as a supervised remote learning site during the pandemic, a BellXcel pre-kindergarten summer camp site and currently as an afterschool site.

Camp Grier

First Presbyterian Church has partnered with Camp Grier, located in Old Fort, North Carolina, for 70 years to support their mission of offering outdoor experiences to underserved youth in our community. First Presbyterian Church sponsors campers (age 7-17) who participate in a week of sleepaway camp as well as campers in the Streets To Peaks program, which offers programming each quarter to 12-18 year old campers who are nominated to participate.

How We Help

Underserved families and children should feel loved, supported, and hopeful. Not only does this show them the love of Christ, it also helps to ensure they are in a better position to achieve personal and academic goals.

BellXcel Summer Camp

Sixty Westerly Hills Academy students, rising first through third grades, participate in a six week day camp at First Presbyterian. The students consistently achieve gains in reading and math. Volunteers serve as tutors, lunch buddies, enrichment assistants, and field trip chaperones. | Learn more

Camp Grier Summer Camp

Elementary through high school students participate in a free week of sleepaway camp in the mountains of North Carolina. FPC Volunteers serve as Camp Connectors to provide a personal connection to each participating camper and their family. | Learn more

Tutoring at Westerly Hills Academy

Volunteers tutor students weekly through quality partnerships with Augustine Literacy Project, HELPS Fluency Tutoring, and Heart Math Tutoring. | Learn more

Core Church

The Bridge Learning Center at the Core Church serves 40 students from the Westerly Hills community in their afterschool program.  FPC supports the program with supplies and snack donations, and volunteers assist with literacy activities, homework help, and administrative tasks. | Learn more

Girl Scout Troop at Wilson STEM Academy

Volunteers lead and support a troop of Girl Scouts at Wilson STEM Academy, the middle school our Westerly Hills Academy students go on to attend. | Learn more

Westerly Hills Academy Food Pantry

Volunteers donate and deliver food to the school’s food pantry on a monthly basis. | Learn more

Giving Opportunities

You can help our community partners by donating the items listed below.

Upcoming Events

School Store – Westerly Hills Academy, 3/24 – 11:30am – 2:30pm

Second Harvest Mobile Food Pantry – Westerly HIlls Academy, 4/17 – 4:00pm – 6:00pm

Westerly Hills Academy Campus Beautification Day Westerly Hills Academy, 4/29, 10am – noon

Doughnuts for Dads – Westerly Hills Academy, 4/27 – 8:00am – 8:30am

Muffins for Moms – Westerly Hills Academy, 5/11 – 8:00am – 8:30am

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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News + Stories from the Outreach Team

Charlotte school, church create ‘flagship model’ of school-community partnership

The partnership between First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte and Westerly Hills Academy is a strong one, one that the school principal describes as a flagship model of a successful school-community relationship. You wouldn’t know it now, but there was a time when...

A Culture of Care

Nov. 2020 marked the 20 year anniversary of our partnership with Westerly Hills Academy. To honor this milestone, we established a food pantry at the school. The project was recently featured in the CMS Foundation yearbook.

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