November | 2023

Giving Thanks for Surrogate Families

EAPE , Newsletters , Urban Mentors Network

Dear Members of the EAPE Family,

During this Thanksgiving season when we slow down to give thanks for the blessings we’ve received – of family and friends; the opportunities for education and employment; the means for a safe home and sufficient food to eat; and the peace, love and hope found in Jesus our Lord – I want to take this moment to thank you for the prayers you’ve prayed and the financial gifts you’ve given in support of Tony and EAPE.

In many ways our urban missionaries and teachers become surrogate family members to the children and youth they minister to in the neighborhoods where they live and serve. And your prayers and gifts make you an extended member of the EAPE family, a family bound together in Jesus’ name.

One of our urban missionaries, Jaime Taylor, recently described to me the familial bond she has – and wants each of us to have – with the girls and teens she mentors and disciples:

Jaime Taylor founded Urban Mentors Network after serving in our Mission Year program. She has recruited and trained 25 volunteers to tutor and spiritually mentor 130 girls, teens and young women from inner-city Oakland each year.

I want you to love them the way I love them, root for them the way I root for them, and cry with them as I cry with them. I want you to care about whether they have opportunities or graduate or experience loss or success. I want you to cry with our community here and I want you to celebrate with it as well.

And how important your support is for this kind of relational, urban ministry:

I want this because these girls and teens need to be seen and known. I want this because we can’t keep doing our mentoring, small groups and community events without your fervent prayer and your financial support. I want this because I know my community here has God’s love to show you, and you have God’s love to share with them.

You may never meet Jaime or have a Thanksgiving meal with her inner-city “family” in Oakland, but you need to know that along with all the changed lives and smiling faces we see through each of our ministries, all of us at EAPE are incredibly thankful for your support and encouragement, and grateful to be on this journey together… with you… as a family.

As you give thanks and celebrate this month, please take a moment to make as generous a gift as you can to support the work of our urban missionaries and teachers. They’ll need it as they work hard to make this Thanksgiving and Christmas special for all the children, youth and families they love, serve and support in Jesus’ name.

With a thankful heart and hope in Christ,

Robert Gauthier
Managing Director, EAPE Donate now at: https://eape.org/donate/

P.S. Next month you will be asked by us and other charities you support to give – and give generously – during the Christmas season. As you prayerfully consider your Christmas and end-of-year gift to EAPE, we want you to know how your support will make a difference in the lives of the children, youth and families that our urban missionaries and teachers work with every day. Please visit EAPE.org/Chrstimas-Year-End-Giving-Guide to learn more.

Trials of Paradox: Mercy on Trial

Yes! And...

With a small but creative and talented staff and crew of volunteers, Yes! And… Collaborative Arts has been conducting summer and year-long theatre camps in churches throughout the Metro-Philadelphia area for 15 years. The ministry annually reaches over 100 children, teens and young adults, 75% of whom live below the poverty level.

Yes! And…’s SHADOW Company is a performing arts company made up of high school students from around the Philadelphia area. They are led by a “core” of 4 – 5 high school students that have been involved in SHADOW Company programming for a few years, exhibit a desire to grow and learn, and have expressed a desire to be in leadership. SHADOW Company works all year long on the craft of theatre-making, is ensemble-based, and produces thought-provoking theatre experiences.

SHADOW Company performs two “main stage” productions each year; one for the annual Philly Fringe Festival and the second at Eastern University called A Winter Sort of Thing, an original production each year which tells the story of God’s redemptive and unconditional love for all people.

This year for the Philly Fringe Festival, SHADOW Company researched, wrote and performed Trials of Paradox: Mercy on Trial, which took audiences through three terrifying and awful historical events, the story of Freddie Adams, Emmett Till and the MOVE bombing. Freddie Adams, a young man killed over a gang dispute in Kensington in 1993. Emmett Till, an African-American teen who was killed by several white men in Mississippi in 1955. And MOVE, a community of Afro-centric radicals who were bombed because they refused to leave their home in West Philadelphia in 1985.

In a world filled with and sometimes overwhelmed by violence, Trials of Paradox asks who is to blame: the perpetrators for committing these nefarious acts or… Mercy, a base emotion, for just not showing up?

Mercy stands trial, accused of being absent when our world needed her most. As in past shows like Bullseye!, Green People, and Flash, the teenagers of SHADOW Company explore basic, yet essential questions about growing up in a turbulent world. Who should take greater responsibility for the violence plaguing our streets, or is it just the absence of Mercy? Exploring tragic events like the murders of Emmitt Till and Freddie Adams, and the MOVE bombing, audiences discovered that the lines are blurred and the water is muddled. Indeed, it was a Trial of Paradox.

You can watch Eastern University’s video review here:

If you missed Trials of Paradox you can still experience Yes! And…’s creative and thought-provoking collaborative theatre. Their annual Winter Sort of Thing, a musical co-produced with and performed at Eastern University, is coming soon and you don’t want to miss it!

Down with the Crown

The King stinks. And the adults seem happy to do nothing about it. It’s up to the kids to change things in the quiet hamlet of Blankety Blank Bay. But who knew revolution would prove so difficult?

January 30th – 7pm
January 31st – 11:30am, 7pm
February 1st – 1pm, 7pm
February 2nd – 1pm

http://www.wintersortofthing.com/

When you give to EAPE, you invest in a network of innovative, holistic and effective ministries, such as Yes! And… Collaborative Arts, that love, serve and support at-risk children, youth and their families in Jesus’ name. Each Yes! And… camp session brings together inner-city and suburban youth and provides an opportunity for fun, safe and collaborative play and play making, where all participants learn new skills, develop confidence and grow in their understanding of God’s love for them. If you have questions about Yes! And…, or any of the ministries we’re investing in, please call EAPE’s office at 610-341-1722 or use the “Contact Us” form below to send an email.

2023 Christmas & Year End Giving Guide

EAPE , Newsletters

During this Christmas season you will be asked by us and other charities you support to give – and give generously – to make a difference in the lives of the “least of these.” As you prayerfully consider your Christmas and end-of-year gift to EAPE, we want you to know how your support will impact the lives of the children, youth and families that our urban missionaries and teachers love, serve and support in Jesus’ name.

This year we’re investing your gifts in 20 ministries, programs and special projects and we are providing the following giving guide to help you measure the impact of your generosity. For more details please visit the MINISTRIES page or call our office at 610-341-1722 (local) or toll free at 855-612-EAPE (3273).

$1 provides one day of education for a child in one of Haiti Partners’ seven schools.

$5 buys a Haitian Creole textbook for a child in Haiti.

$20 provides one day of education at Cornerstone Christian Academy for one Southwest Philadelphia child. Give Now

$30 sponsors one month in an Urban Promise After School Program or summer camp for a child from Camden, Trenton or Miami.

$58 (one day’s work at minimum wage) supports one day of service for Mission Year urban missionaries as they seek to love and serve their inner-city neighbors in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston or Philadelphia.

$100 sponsors two months of mentoring—including Bible Study, homework assistance, activities to build self-esteem and improve social and decision-making skills, and other life building experiences—for one child, teen or young adult served by Urban Mentors Network in Oakland, CA. Give Now

$125 provides a Haiti Partners’ school teacher’s salary for a month, or one month of education and training for a South African woman in Evangeline Ministries’ mentoring, leadership and economic uplift program.

$150 provides a homeless child or woman critical, holistic support during a short-term stay at Aquila Way’s drop-in shelter.

$350 allows a child impacted by HIV-AIDS or other traumatic circumstances to attend a Christ-centered 4-day REACH Ministries camp filled with adventures, fun and signing and the support of trained, loving counselors. Give Now

$365 sends a child to school in Haiti for an entire year or sponsors a year of After School programming and summer camp for a child from Camden, Trenton or Miami.

$400 enables teens to participate in Yes! And…Collaborative Arts’ year-long theatrical program that combines education, the creative arts and loving relationships, and fosters learning new skills, developing confidence and growing in their understanding of God’s love for them.

$500 supports one month of a “Wesley Corps” member’s service with Peace of the City, a dynamic ministry serving and empowering more than 100 children, teens and their families in under-resourced Buffalo neighborhoods, through literacy training, educational enrichment activities, mentoring and relational discipling. Give Now

$1,000 provides furniture (benches, blackboard, etc.) for an entire classroom or supplies (books, paper, etc.) for two classrooms in Haiti Partner’s schools.

$1,500: Teach, Train and Equip HIV Positive and Disadvantaged Women in South Africa
Impact: Provides a woman in Evangeline Ministries’ program an education in basic English and computer proficiency, certified training in sewing and design, and equips her with a sewing machine and access to markets to sell goods upon completion of training. Give Now

$3,900: Employ an inner-city teen in the Urban Promise Street Leader Program
Impact: Employs a teen from Camden, Trenton and Miami in the Street Leader Program who will serve as a counselor, tutor, and role model for children in Urban Promise’s After School Program and summer camps.

$5,000: Save a House, Make a Home in Philadelphia
Impact: Acquires a vacant house which will be converted into a home for a low-income family. Through a special collaboration between EAPE, the Fuller Center for Housing and The Simple Way, this is a creative, redemptive and sustainable way to address poverty at a micro level in Kensington, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Philadelphia. There are more vacant homes (20,000) in Philadelphia than there are homeless people in the city, so there is a tremendous opportunity to uniquely and responsibly offer families in need of a hand up! Give Now

$7,500: Sponsor a Summer Camp Site in Camden, Miami or Trenton
Impact: Sponsors an Urban Promise summer camp to provide 50 children in high-risk communities with fun summer programming in a safe and stimulating environment that includes 6-hour days of enriching, age-appropriate activities and a daily food program.

$7,500: Scholarship for K-8^th Grade Student in West Philadelphia
Impact: Sponsors a year of quality, Christian education in a safe and loving environment for students at Cornerstone Christian Academy and prepares them for academic, personal and professional success and a life of faithful discipleship. Give Now

$10,000: Sponsor a Year-Round Site in Camden, Miami or Trenton
Impact: Sponsors an After School Program and Summer Camp to provide 100 children in high-risk communities with a safe and stimulating environment and programming that promotes academic success, life skills, and leadership. After School Programs offer activities such as academic enrichment classes, arts and crafts, recreation, life skills workshops, and community service during after-school hours.

$16,000: Sponsor an Urban Missionary in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston or Philadelphia
Impact: Houses, trains, feeds and insures Mission Year urban missionaries and sustains their year of service as they follow Jesus’ command to “Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Give Now

$20,000: Support an entire Haiti Partners’ school in Haiti for a year
Impact: Improves facilities and provides educational materials for students; trains teachers in student-centered, innovative education methods; provides training for school staff and the local community to create social businesses that can help pay for teacher salaries and other expenses.

When you give to EAPE, your investment supports a network of innovative, holistic ministries that are changing lives and communities throughout North America and around the world in Jesus’ name. Thank you for entrusting Tony and our Board of Directors with your generous support!

PS. If you’d prefer to mail your donation please send it to: EAPE | P.O. Box 7238 | St. Davids, PA | 9087. We can process your mailed donation for 2023 through January 15th with a check dated December 31, 2023.

GIVE ONLINE TODAY!

Helpful Tools For Christmas & Year End Giving

EAPE , Newsletters

EAPE is a kind of mutual fund. When you contribute to EAPE, your money is pooled together with gifts of others who share a commitment to evangelism and social justice and who are willing to trust the leadership of Tony and EAPE’s Board of Directors to invest wisely that money in a diverse group of innovative Christian ministries deemed likely to produce significant returns on the collective investment. The difference, of course, is that in this mutual fund the return on investment is measured by changed lives and changed communities instead of dollars and cents.

To learn more about the family of innovative and effective ministries we’re investing in with your gifts, click here: https://eape.org/ministries/. If you have any questions about our ministries and how your support will make a difference, please call 610-341-1715 or toll-free at 855-612-EAPE (3273).

Charitable Donation from your IRA (Time Sensitive)

Thanks to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, a popular tax law provision is back in effect. If you’re 70 1/2 or older you can transfer as much as $100,000 this year from a Roth or traditional IRA directly to EAPE without having to count the transfer as taxable income. This provision is set to expire December 31, 2023. For more information please visit: http://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Charitable-Donations-from-IRAs-for-2012-and-2023 and contact your financial consultant or tax adviser.

Giving By Credit Card or Electronic Check

Click here to make a one-time or recurring gift or create a profile and account.

Online giving makes good stewardship sense for us by reducing overhead costs and potential errors, and good sense for you by reducing check writing & monthly paperwork and by providing you with instant access to your account history. Our new DonateQ service is a better way for you to securely submit regular contributions, a one-time gift or a special offering in support of a specific ministry or project. You simply choose the purpose, the amount and the frequency for your giving to authorize from a checking account or credit card. You can change anything at any time, 24/7.

For more information, check out our Online Giving Q & A and Step-by-Step Instructions or getting started. If you have already been enrolled in our monthly giving program, your account has already been updated to DonateQ.

Giving By Phone or PayPal

Click the logo to donate via PayPal. To give via telephone or to ask any questions about donating, call 610-341-1715 or toll-free at 855-612-EAPE (3273).

Checks and Money Orders

Please make checks and money orders payable to EAPE/KINGDOMWORKS and mail to:

EAPE/KINGDOMWORKS
P.O. Box 7238
St. Davids, PA 19087

Appreciated Assets

In case you were wondering, stocks, bonds and mutual funds can be easily transferred to EAPE. You should first consult with your own financial adviser to learn about tax advantages, and then contact our broker to complete the transaction:

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
100 Front St, Suite 600
West Conshohocken, PA 19428
610-260-8600

DTC#: 0015
Account Name: EAPE
Tax ID# 23-713-7006
Account# 665-163-679-087

Bequests

“I am getting up in years and have recently reviewed my will. EAPE is listed as a major benefactor. Would you consider doing what I have done? The assurance that the ministries of EAPE will go on long after I am gone is a joy to me. It could be for you, too!” – Dr. Tony Campolo, Founder and President, EAPE

An excellent way to provide for the future of EAPE’s ministries and leave a lasting legacy is to remember us in your will. You can leave your entire estate, a percentage of your estate, a specific dollar amount, or the residue. Check with your attorney for the specific wording.

Important Tax Information

No goods or services (other than intangible religious benefits) were provided to the donor in exchange for this contribution. Gifts are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. EAPE is a registered charitable organization. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, 800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

Milestone: Cornerstone Christian Academy Accredited

Cornerstone Christian Academy

In our October newsletter about the importance of education for holistic ministry, we noted that when the City of Philadelphia started this school year with 23 fewer public schools, Cornerstone Christian Academy began its 25^th year of providing quality, Christian education in a safe and loving environment for low-income children in southwest Philadelphia.

We’re pleased to share the following special announcement about Cornerstone Christian Academy, and to express how proud we are of the faculty, staff, students and you— our supporters—for achieving this milestone!

November 1, 2023
Southwest Philadelphia

Excitement filled the halls of Cornerstone Christian Academy this week when the official certificate of accreditation arrived from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. After two years of hard work examining every element of the school’s operation, hundreds of pages of self-study, action plans, policies and procedures, the award of accreditation has become reality. This is the first of two awards the school anticipates, the other being from the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) in early 2022. On Tuesday when he received the accreditation award, Cornerstone President and CEO Dick Ollinger, exclaimed, “We did it!” to staff, students, and faculty throughout the school.

Accreditation demonstrates to educators, parents and partners that the school has dedicated itself to rigorous academic standards and transparent governance procedures. When Cornerstone began in 1988, founders Tony Campolo, Jim Sweet and a host of volunteers, donors, parents and educators envisioned a southwest Philadelphia school that would instill in each student the hope that comes from faith in Christ. They saw thousands of children fall victim to poverty, violence and achievement gaps in public schools and wanted to establish an independent school option that was safe and challenged students with high academic standards. Those early leaders wanted to train and educate young people to believe that God loved them and gifted them with a top-quality education. Rather than a way out of the inner-city, the education they were to receive would be an empowering tool for transformation of circumstances they saw each day in their neighborhoods.

Today, accreditation is the next step in achieving that mission. With an increased focus on outcomes, the school can better prepare students to enroll and excel in top high schools throughout the region. Already, Cornerstone graduates report that they are well prepared for high school in Science, Math and Computers. Others tell their Cornerstone teachers and Principal Deb Lee that the disciplined study habits they learned at Cornerstone have followed them to post-secondary education. Graduates like Steve McFarland (Class of 2007), who now attends Swarthmore College in suburban Philadelphia, aim to bring their education and skills back to southwest Philadelphia to educate and train the next generations. Accreditation affirms the belief that a rigorous academic program coupled with a foundation of faith in Christ will produce students who can become effective leaders.

Thank you to each individual, church and business that accompanied Cornerstone along the path of accreditation. Continue to pray with us as the hard work of implementing the Accreditation Action Plan begins – and remember to “Save the Date” for the 25th Anniversary Celebration on May 1, 2022 at St. David’s Country Club in St. David’s, PA.

When you give to EAPE, you invest in a network of innovative, holistic and effective ministries, such as Cornerstone Christian Academy, that love, serve and support at-risk children, youth and their families in Jesus’ name. If you have questions about Cornerstone, or any of the ministries we’re investing in, please call EAPE’s office at 610-341-1722 or use the “Contact Us” form below to send an email.

2023-Nov