By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Pastor Micah Sanderson of CrossPoint Church was honored at a recent Hays USD 489 school board with the Kansas Head Start Association 2021 Excellence in Community Service Award.
Donna Hudson-Hamilton, director of Early Childhood Connections, presented the award to Sanderson at the meeting.
Karla Bixenman, family service coordinator for the 3-to-5 ECC program, shared why ECC nominated Sanderson and the church for the award.
In 2019, ECC relocated to 13th Street across the street from CrossPoint Church. The congregation brought snacks and meals to the staff as they unpacked in the new facility.
"In addition, friendly introductions and contagious smiles and welcoming handshakes were uplifting to our staff who were diligently working very long hours at that time," Bixenman said.
CrossPoint has been established as the facility's emergency evacuation location for the more than 300 students and staff.
CrossPoint has also allowed the ECC staff to use its facilities for meetings and trainings that the 13th Street facility will not accommodate. The church did not charge the school district for this use.
Each Christmas, the congregation has provided gifts for the 25 most needy families at the ECC.
The church members hope to host a spring block party for the program's children and families; however, this has been put on hold because of COVID. The members are hoping the event will be possible this spring.
"Without a doubt, CrossPoint has truly been an outstanding neighbor to our program from the very beginning," Bixenman said. "They continue to provide generous support to children, families and our program."
Church members helped clean the grounds prior to ECC's 30th anniversary event. Sanderson served as emcee and provided the sound system.
The members also provided snow cones at the center's Go Truck Go event, and provided popcorn bags with encouraging words to all the center's staff.
"We truly can't imagine a better neighbor," Bixenman said. "Thank you Micah and CrossPoint Church for blessing us with your friendship. Every school should have a neighbor like ours."
Members of the special education co-op were also recognized by director Kyle Carlin at the school board meeting.
• Becky Clark, school social worker, recently earned her licensed specialist clinical social worker credential.
• Teri Berkgren, instructional coach/autism intervention, was given the 2021 Outstanding Educator of Students with Autism award from the Midwest Symposium on Leadership in Behavior Disorders
• Alice Berens, Ellis Junior High/High School resource, was named the Ellis Teacher of the Year.