Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: GRACE (08/24/23)
-
TITLE: We Need You! | Previous Challenge Entry
By Corinne Smelker
08/30/23 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
“Esteemed leaders of the religious community,” the governor began, “Thank you for meeting with us today. This has been in the works for quite a while, and in order to make a difference, we need the help of your communities.”
He continued, “As you are all aware from watching the news and reading online sources, child exploitation is on the rise. It takes many forms and has been discovered in almost every aspect of society, but particularly among those considered the most vulnerable – those in foster care, those from violent backgrounds, and sometimes even those we would consider low-risk.”
There was a murmur around the room as the men and women looked at each other.
“Our state and federal resources are just not enough. Our Border Patrol is overwhelmed, our child sex trafficking team is stretched thin, our sexual assault survivor’s team is running on empty, our foster system needs all the support it can get, and we are doing all we can to support them in every way. But we need more. In short, we need you!”
“Is this about the Network of Nurture initiative?” one person asked.
“Yes, but it goes beyond that. Let me explain,” the Governor replied.
“I have created an initiative called GRACE – Governor’s Response Against Child Exploitation.” It will work in tandem with the Nurture program we developed in 2017, but with GRACE, we will be relying heavily on your religious communities to help us. We need more foster parents and emergency shelters, and many of your buildings are already set up for shelter. Ask members of your congregations, temples, and mosques to become mentors to the children we help; we’ve even launched new volunteer roles that work directly with at-risk kids. We’ve created a portal allowing you to collaborate to benefit children and families in their community. When we identify the needs of children, we go online to submit a request for help. That request will then go to you, the local religious organizations within that community. You then have the opportunity to meet the needs of these vulnerable children, accessing additional community support when necessary.”
The Governor paused and looked at the men and women seated before him. “GRACE can work. I know it can. We can make a difference in our state. We can make a difference in the lives of children who are exploited every day by evil.
“Together, we can save our children and secure their future.”
*****************************************************************
Governor Abbot of Texas created GRACE in 2020 as a supplement to other programs already in place.
Other Governors have the same initiatives but use different acronyms.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.