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Evening Programming

Since its inception, RHK has made it our mission to share God’s love with inner-city children through Biblical principles, with physical and spiritual solutions.

During our evening program, kids receive a hot meal, and then enjoy music, Bible lessons and lots of fun activities. The program is led by compassionate, adult staff and volunteer mentors who use Biblical principles to teach basic life skills, to encourage the kids to do their best in school, and to develop positive goals for their futures. Special speakers are asked to come and share about topics like manners, purity, and gang avoidance and prevention.

At the end of each evening, the children leave with a bag of kid-friendly, non-perishable food items to help sustain them when they are away from our program. Throughout the year we provide the children with important items such as coats, shoes, boots, socks, hats, mittens, hygiene supplies, blankets, pillows, flashlights, school supplies, and even Christmas gifts.

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Provided Services

Year-Long Programming

Feeding Hungry Kids

From Monday to Thursday, 5:00p.m.-8:00 p.m. we open our doors for Rockford’s inner-city kids, providing a safe and warm place, a hot meal, and daily essentials.

Providing the Essentials

Throughout the year we provide seasonal needs such as coats, hats, mittens, boots, socks, underwear, backpacks, school supplies, gym shoes, bikes, blankets, flashlights, and hygiene supplies.

Many of the children we see do not get three meals a day. In fact, if it was not for school lunches, they may not get food at all. For that reason, we always serve a hot meal. Also, when the kids leave Rock House each night, we give them a bag of non-perishable, kid-friendly foods to help sustain them when they are away from our facility.

Enjoying Special Events

Celebrating Holidays

Christmas is a big deal at Rock House Kids. We collect wish lists from the children and with help from our generous community, each child receives a large bag of gifts and a filled stocking. It is so fun to hear the kids squeal with joy when they receive gifts they might not otherwise get.

From time to time, local groups will bring activities to our kids. We have had animal visits from Burpee Museum, math and science projects from our local STEM group, and outdoor games with local churches.

Other professionals visit to teach important skills such as proper adolescent behavior and hygiene, applying and interviewing for jobs, or to talk about job opportunities and college.

An Ongoing Need

We are always aware that many of the children we serve would be without food, basic life essentials, and special celebrations were it not for the Rock House Kids program.

Occasional field trips help break up the year – our kids enjoy swimming, bowling, skating, camping trips, and even learning how to water ski with the Rockford Ski Broncs!

With God’s help and the generous support from our donors, we CAN make a difference in the life of these children. With your help and prayers, we will open more doors and bless more children!

Programming

Register Your Child or Teen

There is no fee to attend our evening program - everything is no cost to you.

However, a registration form must be filled out and signed by a parent or guardian, then returned to Rock House Kids prior to a child or teen's first night.  

Download the form here or they can be obtained from our office.

New Child Sign Up Form

New Teen Sign Up form

Questions? Call us at 815-962-5067.

1st-5th Grade

Mondays & Wednesdays

We always start our evening with a hot meal. Kids function and focus better when they have full tummies. After dinner, our 1st & 2nd graders enjoy a time of singing and Bible lessons, followed by time of fun crafts & games with their volunteer mentors.  Our 3rd-5th graders divide into groups by grade with their mentors and rotate to different stations for Bible lessons, crafts, scripture memory activities and games.

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6th-12th Grade

Tuesday & Thursday

Like with the younger kids, we always start with a hot meal because a hungry belly does not listen! Then it is chapel time, where we enjoy music and share faith-based lessons specifically written for older kids. Time is spent instructing on important topics like honesty, responsibility, and gang/drug avoidance. The teens then split into classrooms where their mentors expand on the lesson and build relationships within their group.

Special Classes

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Music

This is a 4-6 week class, once a week, for 60 minutes. The kids can choose from various instruments (i.e., keyboard, guitar, drums, etc) and learn the basic skills to play them. In the process, the group learns several praise songs. Upon completion of the class, the group performs for the rest of the RHK kids, leading them in the songs during chapel time. 

Puppets

This is a 4-6 week class, once a week, for 60 minutes. Our puppeteers act out a story and sing songs using a variety of puppet characters. Using puppets allows the more shy children to outwardly express themselves. Our Puppet Teams get to perform for all of Rock House Kids upon completion of their class. They are also showcased at our annual fundraiser, Streets & Sweets.

We are always looking for caring adult volunteers to help us care for the children who are in need of mentoring and guidance!

If you would like to learn more about volunteering for Rock House Kids, click below

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