Fifth Christian Church of Cleveland, Ohio ran a Children's Defense Fund Freedom School this Summer serving over thirty children in the historic Lee - Harvard area of Cleveland, OH.
The mission of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) is to ensure every child a healthy start, a head start, a fair start, a safe start and a moral start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. The CDF Freedom Schools® program provides summer and after-school enrichment through a research-based and multicultural program model that supports K-12 scholars and their families through five essential components: high quality academic and character-building enrichment; parent and family involvement; civic engagement and social action; intergenerational servant leadership development; and nutrition, health and mental health.
The CDF Freedom Schools program incorporates the totality of CDF’s mission by fostering environments that support children and young adults (known as “scholars” in the CDF Freedom Schools program) to excel and believe in their ability to make a difference in themselves and in their families, schools, communities, country, and world with hope, education and action.
By providing K-12 scholars with rich, culturally relevant pedagogy and high quality books that deepen scholars’ understanding of themselves and all they have in common with others in a multiracial, multicultural democratic society, CDF Freedom Schools programs further empowers scholars to believe in their ability and responsibility to make a difference while instilling in them a love of reading to help them avoid summer learning loss.
The National Theme this year was Gun Violence. Over hundred Freedom School sites had a national day of action where scholars confronted gun violence in their communities. Scholars at Fifth Christian Church decided to go to Columbus, OH and meet with decision makers and their staff to push demands to end gun violence in Ohio. The Scholars made a powerful video and submitted it to the legislatures.
The Freedom School was timely as our nation decides to take away Black studies from our schools and terminate the need for diversity in higher education. Our scholars received top notch education this summer and tools to demand change in their communities.
Rev. E. Regis Bunch, M.Div.
Fifth Christian Church Disciples of Christ
For more information about Freedom Schools, go online to: https://www.childrensdefense.org/programs/cdf-freedom-schools/