“Life Support,” New Life, and Back-to-Basics:
Greetings PEACH families, both old and new! Although summer seems to have come to an end way too quickly, I often look forward to the days of cooler weather in the fall and the changing seasons away from the hot and muggy. I hope that you are well as we are all thinking about the beginning of this school year.
For our first newsletter of the school year, I want to give a warm welcome from your 2022-2023 Board and bring you up-to-date on a few items that the board has been discussing and working on through the summer. PEACH has been a wonderful resource for us homeschooling families for many, many years. At the end of last school year, PEACH was
on life support, without enough member volunteers to sustain a Board – and still is to a degree – as we seek a Vice President. I didn’t realize how serious it was until we met in the spring and a then Board member mentioned there was a meeting scheduled with an attorney to discuss dissolving PEACH.
My wife, Jennifer, and I have been homeschooling over 20 years, and we prayed about whether it was the right time to step up and help keep PEACH alive. Just as homeschool support groups helped us get our start two decades ago, we believe there is still significant value today in supporting our homeschooling brothers and sisters in Christ – whether helping new families to get a good start using our collective stories and experiences, or to provide encouragement for each other regardless where we are on the homeschooling journey. We believe the Bible is clear that we are to actively support one another, so how could we ignore the need?
Fast forward to today, and we have a small but active Board who believes in PEACH and its future. Art and Donna Salatin were at their maximum years serving as Secretaries, so they transitioned to Newsletter Editor. Jennifer Perdew agreed to continue serving as Treasurer. Marcy Bridges stepped up to become the new Secretary. With that, PEACH now has three of four required Board positions filled, and can still function.
At the Back-To-School Picnic (September 10th), we would like to spend time reconnecting and give a brief update on PEACH for the 2022-2023 school year – including information about this school year’s meeting schedule and activities. I hope you can come! Please RSVP at https://forms.gle/MuAPT5J1DyhAWyGK8 so we can have enough supplies.
We also want to hear from you – what is the most valuable part of PEACH for your family?
Given the lack of volunteers the past few years, we must scale back activities and really look hard at our priorities to remain viable. That’s why we want to continue to hear from you at the picnic, and via the PEACH website. As we met this summer to plan for the coming year, we looked at what would provide the most balance in terms of support, activities, and available volunteers. In this newsletter you will find a proposed meeting and activity schedule for the year, which will look quite different from previous years as a result of that
balance. At the picnic, we’ll talk a little more about the schedule and things the Board plans to work on this year.
As we get the books out, the pencils sharpened and settle into the fall routine, our prayer for you is you will find His joy in the journey, His strength each day, and His wisdom and grace as you provide one of the most important foundations you can provide for your children – a Christian education in your home.
Blessings,
Tracy Smith
PEACH President