By Summer Crawford
News Editor
@summercrawfordd
From the moment a child is born to the time that they die, a parent has an eternal duty of caring for and looking after their children. Parents must raise, feed and educate them, fulfilling their daily basic needs. But, for parents of special needs children, their life is another story.
For the past 10 years, one program in Coppell has been dedicating itself towards helping out families with special needs kids. The Loving Hands Ministry at the First United Methodist Church of Coppell (FUMC) provides one Saturday night off every month for these parents with special needs kids of the ages one to 16-years-old and their siblings. Head of the Loving Hands Ministry for seven years is Kathy Braem, who is also the Children’s Ministry Assistant.
“I was approached by Jennifer Scott, who at the time was our children’s minister, and she asked if I would be interested,” Braem said. “I had no idea what to expect, I had really never worked with special needs children before, but I did have and still do have friends with special needs children and I just have a special place in my heart for them. I get more from them than I feel they probably get from the program, but they come back, they smile and they leave happy, and it makes it all worth it.”
According to the FUMC website, the Loving Hands Ministry “offers Hope, Acceptance, Inclusion, Dignity and Support for all families of young adults, youth and children with special needs.” The most recent Loving Hands night was on Dec. 6.
“It is important to let people know that there is something, an event, a safe place, for kids to come because there are a lot of families that have special needs children and they don’t get a break, they don’t have an outlet,” Braem said. “This is three hours that the kids can come and play, it doesn’t cost anything and they have fun. It’s a way for us to share God’s love with them.”
Both middle and high school volunteers from Coppell and all over the area, including Flower Mound, Frisco, Plano and Irving, are paired with one of the special needs children. These volunteers get to form close bonds with children they might not have met otherwise.
“A lot of the volunteers that come have been coming for quite some time, so they get to know the children really well and know what to expect,” Braem said. “[Special needs children] are no different from any other kid. Everybody deserves a friend, and that is essentially what all of the volunteers are, they become friends with the kids that are coming.”
One student volunteer has been coming for the past five years.
“I like working with kids and knowing [they] are special needs and they appreciate it even more,” New Tech High@Coppell senior Rebekah Moomau said. “It’s just a good feeling knowing you are helping someone out, someone who may not have the same experiences as someone else and they get treated differently. It’s nice for them knowing that someone cares about them and wants to spend time with them.”
On a typical night, there are anywhere from 15 to 25 special needs kids, including their siblings. The most that Loving Hands has had is 36 special needs kids. While parents enjoy a night off and their children enjoy some play time, the volunteers put their whole hearts into the program.
“What fascinates me about the kids is their unconditional love. They go about life not caring and worrying about the things that we worry about every day, and I love that,” Braem said. “It is the little things that make most of the kids happy, I wish more of us could be like that and realize that it’s not all about the things, sometimes it is a smile or a hug. You get the best hugs from all of the kids when they come and that is what I look forward to.”
