Planting Seeds of Stewardship

A young girl digs a hole for her plant. She chose lettuce. And now it grows alongside the beans, tomatoes and watermelon that the other preschoolers chose and planted.

It’s all a part of The Salvation Army’s efforts to pass along important stewardship lessons to these children. Good soil mean good plants, and like a blanket that envelops us, it wraps a seedling warm and tight. Plants also need sun and water, just like we need food and drink. But the most important lesson for these children is that all we have is from God and it is important for us to take good care of the “gardens” in our community.

The Salvation Army in Canada has a policy on these issues that the Bloomington Corps would like to share with it’s readership. It can be found at http://www.salvationarmyethics.org/position-statements/responsibility-for-the-environment/. The most meaningful part of that piece is that “proper stewardship ought to follow Christ’s pattern of humility, service and sacrifice in the world.” Wouldn’t it be amazing if today’s preschoolers grew up to see the world, not just the environment, with those lenses?!

Celebration!

As part of Easter celebrations at The Salvation Army, our Child Care Connections children found colorful eggs all over their playground. The children even helped each other find more eggs; we’re not making that up.

But, sometimes the staff couldn’t help but point out an egg or two for the children.

The Salvation Army’s Child Care Connection is a registered ministry with the State of Indiana. It enrolls infants through preschoolers, preparing them for the joys of school. For more information, please contact Shannon Chapman at 812-323-7402.

Catching Vision Loss Early

The Salvation Army in Bloomington is thankful to the Central Lions Club for performing free vision screenings for children enrolled in the Child Care Connection and neighborhood children.

Throughout the morning of screenings, two children’s eye problems were caught by this screening. They have since been referred to eye care specialists who will work with them and their parents to ensure that their vision is as complete as possible.

Funds are still available through The Central Lions club to perform more of these potentially vision saving screenings. So if you know of children in an underserved area or population, please contact Joyce Williams at 812-219-5044 or atsf@gmail.com. It’s worth it!

Salvation Army and Lions Club Team Up to Prevent Vision Loss

The Salvation Army and the Central Lions Club in Bloomington have teamed up to provide free vision screening to area preschoolers. The Lions Club will screen children for signs of vision loss, which if caught early can be effectively treated.

On Wednesday, May 20th the Lions Club will send representatives to The Salvation Army’s Child Care Connection to provide free vision screening to children ages 1-5. All children are welcome to get this important, preventative screening done, even if they are not enrolled at The Salvation Army.

Lions Club staff will use the PlusOptix to identify children whose eyes may have some type of defect, which, if left untreated may lead to a lifetime of vision problems or blindness. The screenings can detect near sightedness, far sightedness, astigmatism, and other amblyopia (dull vision) factors. However this is not a diagnostic tool. Parents should have en eye doctor make the proper diagnosis, if a child is referred by the PlusOptix screening.

This partnership is a part of the Lions Club Operation Kid Sight where Lions travel to area preschools.