Hope Afield begins after school program
Published 7:00 am Friday, August 25, 2023
Ketayvion Hartley collects peppers from Hope Afield’s bucket garden.
Hope Afield attendees enjoy a sack race at the annual Fall Festival.
Ken Kilpatrick (left) and Michael Fitzgerald (right) help RichLasheia Powell (seated) ride a horse.
Students make tie dye pillowcases at Hope Afield’s summer camp in Mississippi.
Jimmy Churchwell, Hope Afield’s farrier, shows a student visitor how to shoe horses.
Ken Kilpatrick teaches students about the farm to table process with an ear of corn at Hope Afield.
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Hope Afield is gearing up for its after school program and annual fundraising event. The program was founded in 2016 by Ken and Jan Kilpatrick with the goal to provide a place where guests can relax, make new friends, gain new skills, enjoy new experiences and develop a healed spirit with the outdoors as the classroom.
The after school program will begin on Aug. 29, and will continue weekly every Tuesday. Jan said the program theme will be “Going back to the basics” and it is open for children of any age from elementary to high school.
“We will focus on the three R’s,” Jan said. “The three R’s are responsibility, respect, and ready. We’re going to learn to be responsible for our actions, to respect others and to work on being ready to make the right choices.”
The Kilpatricks will be working with the students on leadership skills, character building, life applications and life skills, Jan explained, as well as arts and crafts and games. Children who attend are served a meal before returning home, she added.
“We always serve a hot meal before we send them home,” Jan said. “We also furnish snack packs each week that include things like fruit cups, pop tarts, breakfast bars and things like that. Just to give them snacks throughout the rest of the week.”
Linda Daughtry, a member of the Hope Afield board of directors, said it has been a joy to see Ken and Jan’s heart of compassion for the kids.
“They are so good with the kids, it’s just amazing,” Daughtry said. “Some of these kids don’t have fathers around and they look to Ken as their dad. He teaches them things like how to change a tire or how to check for oil, as well as how to respect people and other important life skills.”
The couple said they are excited to announce Hope Afield’s annual fundraiser dinner is slated for Oct. 3. All guests will need to make a reservation to attend the donation event, which has limited seating for148 guests. Ken said the dinner will feature special guest speaker Ralph Stokes.
“Ralph was one of the first African American athletes at the University of Alabama to play football under Coach Bear Bryant,” Ken said. “He’s written a book entitled ‘One of the First’ where he shares his tale of what that experience was like and how he found success. He’s a very talented man.”
The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. on the Hope Afield property at 2606 Old Stage Road in Greenville. To make a reservation call Ken at 334-546-1817, or Jan at 334-462-0743.
Follow Hope Afield’s Facebook page to keep up with the program’s activities and events.
