STAR Kids Bus

Every Wednesday night the STAR kids refugee outreach program brings 250+ children ages 5-17 together for a hot meal, school tutoring, life skills training and group activities.  These school age students and their families have left refugee camps in war torn and dangerous parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. They have legally resettled in the United States.  Students have been in the country anywhere for 3 months to 10+ years and have varying degrees of English language skills.  STARs Wednesday night program gives students a safe, healthy outlet to learn and connect with one another and mentors.  Nearly half of the volunteer mentors and group leaders are Des Moines area high school students.  One of the greatest challenges facing the program is transporting the students from area apartment complexes to Zion Lutheran Church where weekly programming takes place.  We have an old bus, a couple of vans and volunteers who drive students in their cars to transport hundreds of students and often their parents.  We have located a used bus that we hope to purchase to provide a more efficent transportation system and get the students home at a more reasonable pace (and time.)   This bus will literally help make everything at STAR Kids operate smoother by streamlining transportation for students and getting them home at an appropriate bed time!