MAKING ENDS MEET

As you journey through the pages of this edition of our 1600 Magazine, I am urged to share one of our students' favorite mantras - “a day without learning is a day wasted.” This quote is appropriate for my message because it reminds me of learning I received from my mother. It took me more than a few years to understand what she meant by “trying to make ends meet.” After my father was shot while moonlighting trying to make extra income, the resources necessary for my mother to care for myself and my four siblings were scarce. We could not survive on the income from the two jobs she worked to assume the role of widowed, sole family provider. Over time, watching her innovation, creativity and grit helped me understand what it meant to make ends meet . Stretching meals, giving us hand me downs, patching the knees of trousers and cutting them at the knee after use by the third rotation of siblings, along with depositing cardboard in our shoes to keep from damaging the socks and causing blisters, were tools and techniques of survival. With all her magic, the reality is that leftover meals and alternating protein days were not enough. Resources from churches, community, and a dependable village were critical in MAKING ENDS MEET for my family.

As you enjoy this summer edition of THE 1600, we want to thank you for being a part of helping St. Philip’s “make ends meet.” We can continue to serve our students, neighbors, and community by way of the generosity of hundreds of friends who respond with contributions to our many requests for support through various fundraising events and appeals. In fact, last year it took 1,908 gifts of varying ranges to help us achieve our $2.9 million Annual Fund goal in the third quarter of our fiscal year!

It is not my intention to offend anyone who is a fan of President John F Kennedy, but he was wrong when he said, “Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.” As we clearly see in today's society, a father is not necessarily a parent (a topic for another time). I would say success has many parents: We write grants to foundations; churches of many denominations step up to assist with the continuation of this ministry; our parents donate above and beyond their sacrificial tuition payments; and our faculty and staff contribute despite being under paid, yet highly valued. And finally, our signature fundraising event, the Destiny Award Luncheon, now garners over $1,000,000 annually.

The ministry of St. Philips has many parents! Thank you for sharing in the custody of our ability to not merely survive, but thrive. Even with the genius of my mother in making ends meet and the reality that there were “many parents” contributing to our success, St. Philip’s, just as my family did, benefits from an uncommon denominator. My petite powerhouse of a parent was also a PRAYING mother. As you continue to allow God’s blessings onto you to flow through St. Philip’s into the lives of others, I solicit your continued prayers that through St. Philip’s School and Community Center, God’s will shall continue to be done. Let us continue to parent, make ends meet, and pray.

God is constantly showing up and showing out at St. Philip's School and Community Center. We embarked on a faith journey this year with the launching of a full middle school program, and it is evident that God orchestrated our steps. His handiwork was manifested through our students as they excelled academically, spiritually, emotionally, and creatively.