Volume 2 August 2012

Sports camp a Mega hitagain s W

hat do you get when you add together more than 100 kids, 45 volunteers, five different camp activities and a nationally broadcast train derailment and explosion? Urban Impacts second annual Mega Sports Camp!! Months before this years edition of camp, neighborhood kids and their parents started asking, Are we having camp again this year? The answer, of course, was yes. And the good news was, this years camp was bigger and better, with five activitiesbasketball, flag football, soccer, step dance and cheerleadinginstead of just three. The new additions were big hits and so were the camp T-shirts, daily lunches, group huddle times and special guests. Were Mega thankful to everyone who helped make camp possible this year. Be sure to see the back page to see our Mega Thank You list.

Top left (clockwise): 1. Trevon; 2. Coach Kurt enjoying some time with his huddle boys; 3. Coach Dan leads a pigskin strategy session; 4. Javion, his 1,000-watt smile and a few of his friends; 5. Alexceana flashes her pearly whites; 6. TJ heads upfield with a little help from Latrell.

Mega Thanks
With more than 100 campers, Mega Sports Camp is an incredible undertaking. Its four days of sports camp at a public park, and its a logistical maze. We dont often get to thank the key people who make things like MSC happen, so we thought wed do just that here. Urban Impact is truly a group effort, and our volunteers make us go. Thanks to these groups and people: Kroger and Wendys: Kroger provided lunch for a day of camp, and Wendys donated free Frosty coupons to use as gifts and rewards for the kids (and for Mr. Brett)! Our church partners: All Nations and Veritas. Thanks for loaning us your interns and people. And thanks for providing lunch. We appreciate you. Rich and Harlan: Thanks for keepin it real. You can hang in our hood anytime. To Louis Berry for throwin down some tuneage and cutting hair. You da man. To Bryan Redic: You can posterize us anytime. Have a great 2012-2013 season terrorizing the GMAC. To the Householders: You guys fit like an old pair of shoes. Thanks so much! To our Kansas team. Thanks for making it happen guys. This isnt Kansas anymore, is it? To our Garden Church familyand especially Jeff Huff. Just 11 months to get ready for next year!! Thanks for being the best group of volunteers weve ever seen in action. To all the individual volunteers and coaches who gave up free time, vacation time and air-conditioning to serve in an evacuation zone and love on kids: You ARE Urban Impact! Thanks so much for all of your help.

Clockwise, from left: a) Mr. Parker and Mr. CErnie Clinkscaleshare a smile, a laugh and enjoy some popsicles from Urban Impact at the end of the school day on Wednesday, July 25, the first day of the new school year at Weinland Park Elementary School. b) Scott, one of our summer volunteers from Pennsylvania shares a hug with Josh during an Urban Impact cookout in the neighborhood to celebrate the kickoff of flag-football registration; c) Brett gets an arm around his neck and enjoys some hangout time with Aler during the flag-football cookout.

Impact Briefs
Flag-football league preps for inaugural kickoff
Registration is now under way for High Impact Sports first flag-football season. The NFL FLAG league will be the only youthsports league in Weinland Park. Games will be played Sunday afternoons in Weinland Park, and there will be four divisions: 5- to 6-year-old boys and girls; 7- to 9-year-old boys and girls; 10- to 12-year-old boys and 10- to 12-year-old girls. Children pay just $10 to participate, with the second child in any family paying $5. No family will pay more than $15. Urban Impact, with donor and sponsor support, will underwrite the remaining league costs to make the league more accessible. In addition, financial aid is available to families who cant afford to

contribute. We need 100 athlete sponsors at $75 apiece to fully cover the leagues costs. Checks to help should be written to Urban Impact and include High Impact Sports in the memo line.

Student Impact readies for after-school launch

Urban Impacts first after-school initiative will be up and running in a matter of weeks. Well be working primarily with 6th-graders to assist in their transition from elementary to middle school. The goal for the first year is a modest 10 to 20 participants, with additional growth targeted for subsequent years. Theres a need for significant start-up funding for this initiative, and well have more to tell you about it in our next newsletter. Checks should include Student Impact in the memo line.

Change begins with U and I

Urban Impact is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, serving Columbus Weinland Park neighborhood and focused on community development. As a member of the Christian Community Development Association, we believe the work of community development begins, first, with rebuilding communitythe relationships that form the bedrock of a healthy neighborhood. Because of that mindset, we are driven by a philosophy that is decidedly people-centric vs. program-centric. Our program development grows organically from the soil of the relationships weve cultivated, and our work in the neighborhood seeks to empower and develop our neighbors, friends and the people we serve.
Urban Impact PO BOX 30747, Columbus, OH 43230 www.urbanimpactcolumbus.org 614.344.1222 Follow us at twitter.com/urbanimpactcbus | Like us at facebook.com/urbanimpactcbus

DATE: Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 FROM: Brett, Holly, Cameron and Bryce Lawrence RE: Update for our supporters + prayer requests
Enclosed, youll find Urban Impacts latest newsletter. Theres more news than we can possibly share at the momentweve been incredibly busy, with both Holly and I working full time and then some. Cameron and Bryce are junior employees, too. We know the newsletter provides a lot of valuable information, but we want to find ways to personally update you on whats happening, not only with Urban Impact, but in our personal lives as well. Most of you are investing in us, and we want to keep you apprised of the ways Gods working in our familyand through your personal investment in this ministry. As of this writing, we are scheduled to move into Weinland Park on Friday, Aug. 31!!! This is incredibly exciting, and its also our biggest prayer need. Well be vacationing as a family and enjoying a time of rest from Aug. 4 through 12, and when we return, our plates will be incredibly full, as youll see below. Please pray that God sees us through the busyness, that our move-in goes smoothly and that we quickly connect with our new neighbors. Pray that 1488 N. 5th Street is a refuge in our communitya place where Gods light is always shining. In addition to the upcoming move, here are some other prayer needs: 1. Cameron starts his freshman year at Columbus Academy on Wednesday, Aug. 22. He is, as you can imagine, very excited. And nervous. Please pray for him during this transition. 2. Please pray that God brings Holly volunteers and key people to help carry the load of the new Student Impact program that shell be running starting in September. Pray that the students will follow through on their commitments. Pray for wisdom as Holly identifies and works to address the students needs in the early days of the program. And pray that we forge a strong partnership with Columbus City Schools. 3. Please pray for Bretts health. Hes continued to struggle with his thyroid and often battles fatigue. Pray also that God would give him favor as he works to build relationships with key players in the philanthropic, government and business communities. Please pray that God helps him prioritize his many competing responsibilities and that hell use Brett, and the family, in new and exciting ways as they move into the community. 4. Please pray that God directs us to new sources of revenuegrants, corporate donations, etc. 5. Please remember our kids in your prayers. The boys and girls whove been coming to our Super Saturdays program since Mega Sports Camp in July 2011 are growing in their faith. Please pray that they would continue to pursue Christ and make good choices. Living for Jesus in the hood is anything but easy. Its lonely for many of our kids, because living for Jesus means saying no to so many things that their friends say yes to. And, often, it means that those friends dont stay friends for very long. Pray that theyll discover that the Lawrences house is a safe place to go when theyre struggling with decisions and difficult life choices. Pray that God raises them up to be tremendous, Godly leaders. These kids are the heartbeat of what we dothey are the future of their neighborhood and the future of Christs church. Please pray especially for Sierra, T.J., Tyshonne, Bryson and Jalen. A final note: We make it a habit in our family to pray regularly for those who support us. We pray God will bless your generosity. That He would make your cups run over. Most of all, we thank God for you and your partnership with us. We simply could not do this without you.

Change begins with U and I.

P.O. Box 30747, Columbus, Ohio 43230 614.344.1222

www.urbanimpactcolumbus.org