Nash and Estes School Partnerships
St. Mark’s believes that serving our local community is a key part of living out our Christian faith. We know that education is key to success in our modern world, so we chose to partner with local schools to help meet the needs of these students and to support teachers and staff.
Estes Elementary School
Estes Elementary School is part of the Marana Unified School District. 77% of their 600 students fall under the free breakfast & lunch program. We have partnered with this school since 2018, providing school supplies for the classrooms, adopting Angel Tree families and donating Buddy Packs
Nash Elementary School
Nash Elementary School is part of the Amphitheater School District, located in one of Tucson’s lowest socio-economic areas. Nash has a 100% ‘free and reduced’ lunch rate and as a Title 1 school, all students receive free breakfast. What began as a partnership providing volunteers in the classroom in 2002 has grown into a multi-faceted program, administered by the Nash Neighbors Committee — a sub-committee of St. Mark’s Missions Committee.
Estes Encouragers
The Sanctuary congregation has supported Estes Elementary School since 2018 by providing school supplies for the classrooms, adopting Angel Tree families and donating Buddy Packs.
In January 2018, the Sanctuary Mission Team decided that instead of just filling backpacks with school supplies and giving the backpacks to the school district, we wanted to try a different method of distributing school supplies to needy students. Pastor Melissa and Mission team members visited several elementary schools in the vicinity of our church to learn which school needed us. All the schools recommended Estes Elementary School.
So, off we went to meet with Estes Elementary’s principal, assistant principal and secretary to discuss what we could accomplish with our services and that’s how Sanctuary became partners with Estes Elementary School.
Approximately 1,800 Buddy Packs, 200 totes ( containing reams of paper, pencils & expo markers) and 150 Angel Tree families (consisting of 733 children & also includes a gift card to Fry’s) have benefited from this partnership.
Nash Neighbors
Today, Nash Neighbors consists of numerous service projects with a variety of opportunities for individuals and groups to get involved. Nash Neighbors is primarily funded by the generosity of the congregants of St. Marks through the annual Christmas offering and on-going individual giving. Nash Neighbors also partners with the Southern Arizona Food Bank to support the monthly school market. for more information, suggestions, or questions, reach out to the church office or fill out this form.
How to Volunteer
The Nash Neighbors committee oversees three large projects as well as several smaller ones. Do you hear a call to be a part of St. Mark’s inspiring mission at Nash Elementary? Please consider sharing your time and talents by becoming a part of Nash Neighbors and serving as a volunteer in any of our special project areas outlined below.
Classroom volunteers support teachers wherever help is needed. This can include reading to and with students, helping with class projects, and other administrative tasks. Classroom volunteers continue to be a foundation of Nash Neighbors and we always welcome new volunteers.
St Marks, through Nash Neighbors, annually provides students and teachers with classroom supplies to help everyone have a successful learning experience. School supplies are collected on the St. Marks campus each July and distributed at the start of the school year. Nash Neighbors purchases additional supplies to supplement what is donated by the congregation so that we can meet the “wish lists” of each grade level teacher.
A major project area of Nash Neighbors is the monthly School Market, in partnership with with the Southern Arizona Food Bank. In return for St. Mark’s donation to the Southern Arizona Food Bank, they deliver food items (produce, canned goods, dry goods, etc.) to the school which is unpacked, organized, and distributed by 12-15 volunteers from St. Marks. We have experienced our largest numbers ever as food insecurity continues to increase.
Every November, Nash Neighbors collects gift cards to Target and Walmart in $25 increments. These are distributed by the principal and social worker to families that would otherwise not be able to provide their families with any type of holiday cheer. We also provide the principal with $500 in gift cards that are distributed to families that experience sudden and or catastrophic needs. Each year there are special needs that arise such as paying an electric bill for a needy family, purchasing fabric to make folkloric costumes for a dance program, buying turkeys to distribute at a holiday community event, etc.