Photo by Raven Jordan
Update: Heart House will have a summer program at Vickery Park Branch Library this year.
Heart House is something of a hidden gem in the neighborhood.
The nonprofit, nestled in an apartment complex in Vickery Meadow, serves refugee children with support services and after school activities giving back to the community.
On a hot Tuesday afternoon, kids are just getting off the bus from elementary and middle schools in the area. It’s recess and they’re playing on the playground of the Wildflower Apartments, collecting whatever insects they can find, or in their own little friend groups.
The kids are split into groups, based on grade level, each led by a volunteer teacher in the program. Kindergarten – second-grade is Wildflower, third – fourth is Park Lane and fifth – eighth is Pineland.
Their most recent project consisted of making lemonade stands and raising money for charity during Lemonade Day at Hello Carwash on May 7.
Heart House, via Facebook
Now, as the final part of Project X, the kids are making baskets for the homeless to donate to The Bridge Recovery Homeless Center. The baskets are made from donations from anyone who contributed to Heart House’s Amazon Wish List and include items, like toilet paper, bowls, cookware, soap and other essentials.
During learning circle, where the students guess at math problems and finishing sentences, a star rewards system earns the kids in each group their next reward. One day, it’s an ice cream party. Later in the week, it’s a water party.
They take a snack break before continuing with their activities for the day, kind of like they would in school, but with a bit more freedom to be themselves.
Next week will be the last week of the Heart House program for a while, which runs Monday through Thursday from 3-6 p.m.
