Building relationships through service...
Second Saturday at the Community Garden
The Second Saturday Celebration for June was held at the LCM community
garden at K.E. Little Elementary. Along with harvesting the tomatoes,
squash, cucumbers, peppers and beans, the gathering was blessed to have
Clear Lake Presbyterian Church provide the worship service and inspiration-
al music. There were crafts for the kids, and everyone enjoyed a great din-
ner of tacos.
“It was a beautiful Second Saturday Celebration in the garden with neigh-
bors,” said Erika Steele, LCM Executive Director. “We harvested, we craft-
ed, we worshipped,
ate tacos, and visited
with each other!
Thank you to Clear
Lake Presbyterian
Church and to all our
volunteers who
cooked and baked so
we could have such a
wonderful gather-
ing. ”
Education Recognition Luncheon
The Education Recognition Luncheon is an annual event where current
students and graduates of the Lighthouse GED tutoring and scholarship
programs gather with LCM staff and volunteers to celebrate their
educational achievements. It’s an opportunity for graduates to share their
successes, and motivate the current students to persevere and achieve.
Elizabeth Perez is one such success story. She came to Lighthouse as
a GED student, and after passing her exam, earned an LCM scholarship to
attend the College of the Mainland where recently graduated with an
associate’s degree in bookkeeping/accounting.
“We look for the unconventional students for our scholarship program,”
said Tammy Eckart, LCM Operations Director and program administrator.
“We look for students who have had to overcome more obstacles than most
people, but who are very motivated to change their lives for the better, and
committed to doing the work to make a living wage for their families.”
One of the most important aspects of the program is pairing each student
with a volunteer mentor to advise and encourage whenever the student has
problems or challenges that could derail their educational pursuits.
According to Tammy, the mentors and students become like family by the
time the students reach their goals. It’s a great feeling to be part of a
program such as this, she said.
Initially established by Clear Lake
Presbyterian Church, the garden has
a two-fold mission, to establish an
outdoor laboratory for students, and
to provide fresh produce distributed
to the community through the LCM
food assistance ministry.