The Victory Train® is making preparations to start rolling again, after being sidelined due to the COVID-19 health crises and shelter-in-place order. 

According to Theresa Kemp, founder and facilitator of the Victory Train, “We are anxious to resume delivering our educational packets to our families. It has been difficult knowing the parents and children are at home during this unprecedented time and would benefit from having our educational materials delivered each week.”

According to Kemp, “It was a tough call deciding to temporarily halt our program, but we did not want to put our volunteers at risk going door-to-door delivering packets or put our families in harm’s way. Preparations are being made so that once the shelter-in-place order is lifted, we can immediately continue with our in-home deliveries.”

The Victory Train program has been thriving in Greene County and its model continues to evolve to better serve its families, Kemp stated. One of our recent and most rewarding accomplishments prior to the governmental shutdown is that several of our Victory Train parents have volunteered to deliver packets to their family, friends and neighbors who are also in the program. 

“We call our family delivery team our “Victory Angels,” said Kemp. “They are angels who have stepped up to give back, helping their friends and neighbors succeed. We are blessed to have them on our team as they make what we do possible and are examples of the success of the Victory Train program and model.”

According to Victory Train parent, Angel Armstrong, who serves as one of the Victory Angels, “God blesses you to be a blessing to others. I saw enjoyment on my girls’ faces as they work on the packets and made the decision to help deliver packets and put that joy on other kids’ faces. The Victory Train is a blessing on wheels.”

Another parent, Jamie Williams, stated, “The kids are blessed to have Theresa Kemp as the leader of the Victory Train and I’m glad to be part of Victory Angels. The kids look forward to the packets and come running when they see me headed to their door.”

And grandparent, Janis Champion, stated, “The Victory Train program is a great asset to have in Greene County because it helps bring families together. It does my heart good knowing that I’m helping to bring children and parents together by volunteering to pass out these well put together educational packets. I thank God for allowing me to be part of this dynamic program. I am proud to be a Victory Angel!”

The Victory Train is an early childhood education program that delivers weekly educational packets to parents of children ages birth to five years, and is designed to ensure all children in Greene County are kindergarten-ready and on a pathway to graduation. Studies show that kindergarten-readiness is a key predictor of a child’s future academic and economic success. 

Each week an age-appropriate packet arrives at their door with brand new books, crayons, puzzles and educational materials, empowering parents with the resources to teach key elements needed for school-readiness. “Our goal is to make learning fun,” said Kemp. “We want our children to have a love of books and reading, and eager to learn before they reach the first day of school. We want to ensure every child is confident and ready to succeed at the first key milestone on their pathway to graduation.”

The Victory Train program is booming in Greene County, stated Kemp. 

“We started the year with approximately 50 children in the program and now have close to 100 participating, all thanks to our parents referring their friends and family. Having families flocking to our program is a true testament to the benefit of the Victory Train.”

According to Armstrong, “Victory Train has helped my daughter, Hailee, identify her numbers, letters and more, and she is having so much fun while she learns.”  

And Champion noted, “I’m grateful to God for giving Theresa Kemp the vision to start up Victory Train. I enjoy seeing the excitement on my grandchildren’s faces when they receive their packets because they know they are getting ready to learn and have fun. The packets are filled with everything that a parent needs to help their babies be kindergarten-ready.”

Another key part of the Victory Train model, stated Kemp, is “that we are 100% volunteer driven. We have no employees on the Victory Train but instead have an extensive team of volunteers overseeing the production of our weekly packets including our Curriculum team, made up of experienced educators, an Inventory and Supply Order team, and our Packet Prep/Staging team. These volunteers have taken key leadership roles in streamlining our process and we now run like a military operation. In addition, we have our famous Packet Assembly (PAC Day) Community teams who help prepare the packets for delivery. Volunteers from all over the county, including book clubs, church groups, golf groups, retirement communities, sororities, businesses and many others, gather together to help us package between 400 to 500 packets in one day. We couldn’t do what we do without our many amazing volunteers.”

To make the work possible, Kemp said, “We rely on our local community to provide all of the funding for our program. Under the leadership and guidance of our volunteer resource development and finance teams, we raise funds to purchase the educational materials and supplies for the weekly packets. People love what we do. Earlier results show that 92% of the Victory Train children tested score on track for kindergarten-readiness. Once people hear our story and see the tremendous results we are having with our families, they are eager to give funds to help us further our mission.” 

Kemp continued, “We had planned to hold a spring fundraising event in April but unfortunately, due to the shelter-in-place COVID-19 order, we were forced to cancel this event. These funds would allow us to continue to serve our growing number of children with weekly educational packets all year round, and also provide us the materials needed to host our annual summer camp for children who are starting school in the fall, where we teach them how to behave in a classroom setting, and provide them with backpacks and the needed school supplies for their first day of school.

The cancelled spring event was to fund a major portion of our 2020 budget. 

“We still, however, are in need of these funds so that we can start packet production and delivery, once the shelter-in-place order is lifted. At this time, we are reaching out to our community for financial support of our Victory Train program. One hundred percent of your tax-deductible donation will go toward ensuring children in Greene County are prepared for school on Day One and on a successful pathway to graduation.”

The Victory Train® is currently operating under Lakeside Church, a non-profit organization (TaxID#58-2006053). To make a tax-deductible donation or volunteer, please visit our website at www.victorytrain.org or call 770-609-5990. Don’t Miss the Train!