Vision Kids

Vision Kids is a mentoring program that targets 4th - 5th graders in the West Dallas area seeking to raise up, educate and equip leaders so they will become agents of change in the West Dallas community.

What is Involved
As a mentor you will be matched with a 4th or 5th grade student (boy or girl, as appropriate) in a participating elementary school in West Dallas. Opportunities to connect with your mentee will include one-on-one meetings once per month (such as having lunch at school), organized monthly meetings with other mentor-mentee teams (generally, the 3rd Saturday of each month) and informal contact with your mentee two other times per month (such as by email and phone). Committment of time is normally 4 hours per month. The goal is to become a friend to a young person at an early stage in his or her life in order to help him or her develop good judgment in making decisions and to allow this friendship to grow so that the student will look to you as a trusted friend and advisor as the student matures and progresses through junior and senior high schools. The hope is that you will also develop a relationship of friendship and trust with the student's parents. Integral to the relationship that you will develop with the student and his or her family is sharing your faith with them and presenting Jesus to the student and the parents in appropriate, loving ways.

Why Get Involved
There are 2,672 kids within a one mile radius of the Mercy Street facility in West Dallas. The hope is that each and every student has a caring Christian adult mentor. West Dallas consists of a melting pot of new immigrant families and a core of families who have lived in the area for several generations. It is the 11th poorest community in the nation with over 45% of the residents living in poverty with 88% earning less than $29,000 per year. 75% of the adults lack a high school diploma and less than 2% hold a college degree. This is a tremendous opportunity for members of the Watermark body to be used as transforming agents for change while being transformed themselves in the process!

How to Get Involved
The hope is that members of Watermark Community Church will "adopt" one elementary school and provide mentors for the students of that school. If you would like to become a mentor or learn more information about this program, please contact Stephanie Schweinfurth.