The Education Ministry Team at Village Chapel Presbyterian Church in Charleston, West Virginia, selected the New Connections program of DAYMARK to receive our share of the Pentecost Offering for at-risk children and youth. The Offering was received in worship on May 15, 2005.

DAYMARK was founded in 1974 by the Junior League, the First Presbyterian Church of Charleston, and the Kanawha County Commission. For more than thirty years, DAYMARK has been serving youth and families within the Greater Kanawha Valley and all of West Virginia. Although the agency has grown, its original mission has stayed the same: to advocate and provide services for at-risk youth and their families in the community. DAYMARK operates three programs:

Patchwork is a runaway and homeless youth shelter for youth ages 11–18. Turning Point is a group home for older adolescents (17–21) who are in the custody of the state or are homeless. New Connections has five on-site apartments that it rents to youth who are working and going to school. Residents maintain their own apartments, buy their own groceries, prepare their own meals, and manage their own money. New Connections staff provides help in setting up the apartment, support, and twenty-four-hour supervision. When the resident is ready to move into his or her own apartment in the community, New Connections staff helps in finding and setting up an appropriate apartment, helps with start-up costs, and visits at least three times a week, continuing the support and encouragement. In 2004, New Connections served 166 youth.

New Connections also offers a lab for youth ages 16-21 who are interested in studying for their GED. The lab has a full-time educator who works with students individually and collectively. A life skills/job skills counselor is available for help with résumé writing, interviewing skills, transportation, career awareness activities, and job availability information. A case manager assists students in such areas as parenting issues, information and referral, housing problems, and health issues. Support services for teenaged moms, and life skills/job skills are offered in the evenings. New Connections also provides food, clothing, case management, and crisis counseling to residents and students. More information about these programs is available at the Daymark website.

Amy Parker
Village Chapel Presbyterian Church
Charleston, West Virginia
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