Piedmont Community Church is one of Children Rising’s longest-serving partners and embodies our community enablement model. In 2003, Reverend Bill McNabb, then Senior Pastor of Piedmont Community Church, and Reverend Don Ashburn, Associate Pastor, requested a meeting with Children Rising founder Randy Roth. Pastor Bill had heard about the work that Children Rising was doing in Oakland schools. He was eager for Piedmont Community Church members to “get off the hill and into the flatlands of Oakland” but also expressed concern about how schools and families would react to his congregation coming into their schools.

“There needs to be a humble approach: listen first, find out their needs,” Randy explained. 

Pastor Bill and Pastor Don trusted this approach, and within months they had recruited over 30 volunteers. They “adopted” Webster Elementary School (now East Oakland Pride Elementary School) by providing tutoring, library support, campus beautification, teacher appreciation, a sports equipment drive, and more.

“Being able to read is a crucial skill in any person’s life. Helping a child learn to read can give a tutor a sense of their own giftedness as an individual. Sharing something they might have taken for granted in their own life — the ability to read — can open up a whole new horizon for someone who hasn’t been exposed to that gift,” Pastor Don explained.

Children Rising creates meaningful opportunities for members of the congregation to go out into the community and put faith into action in their daily lives, and the congregation has responded! “By partnering with Children Rising and investing in children and their success, FCC is able to provide a connection so that people can grow in their faith and put it into practice.”

Piedmont Community Church has also provided strong financial support to Children Rising. We are grateful to be a mission partner and for the many individual gifts from Piedmont Community Church members. 

“It’s been a rich partnership. I’ve been very happy to have people out of the blue tell me, ‘I’m going to go tutor with Children Rising,’” Pastor Don shared.