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World Vision initially came to Albany, Ga., in 1994 to help flood victims, but stayed on to help address needs created by poverty here and in parts of southwestern Georgia. More than 16,000 people are helped each year through programs that focus leadership training, racial reconciliation, delivering goods that fill basic needs, and tutoring children who need help with schoolwork.
Vision Youth
The KidREACH tutoring program pairs students who struggle in school with caring, committed adults who help them navigate not only textbooks, but also life. These mentors offer academic help as well as spiritual nourishment. In 2002, Albany will launch the middle and high school components of Vision Youth, providing Youth Outreach Workers (YOWs), hired by local churches with the support of World Vision. YOWs are committed, Christian adults from the community who have walked the same walk as the children they serve. The YOW leads and coordinates tutoring programs for young children and mentoring programs for teens as well as mobilizes volunteers in outreach to their community.
Tools for Transformation
Vision Albany empowers churches and community organizations to serve the poor by helping them to build outreach ministries and networks that support them. Leadership training is one tool and another is collaboration.
The Celebration of Christian Unity is a joint effort of the churches of Albany to bring together pastors from diverse ethnic groups to meet regularly for prayer and fellowship. These pastors also discuss differences and avenues to promote racial reconciliation. CCU sponsors a citywide pastors’ celebration, a summer picnic and other bridge-building activities throughout the year.
Vision Albany’s Love for Children links volunteers from churches with local organizations that help families in need. It increases the effectiveness of programs such as Head Start and helps give young children a stronger start in life.
The Storehouse
Part of a growing network of World Vision warehouses, The Storehouse provides life-changing gifts to members of the Albany community who might otherwise go without everyday necessities. Clothes, shoes, personal care items, and even school and building supplies equip ministries and schools to make lives easier for those they serve. The Kids In Need Resource Center, a free school supply store for teachers who work in low-income schools, is another arm of The Storehouse. Teachers no longer have to spend their own money on supplies, and their students don’t have to go without these valuable learning tools.
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