August 13, 2001
14-year-old is go-to girl for missions support
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___AZLE--Most Baptist ministries at one time or another undertake a building project. But few of them have a 14-year-old girl in charge of the fund-raising.
___It's appropriate that Melissa Petry lead the charge to enlarge the Mission House of First Baptist Church of Castle Hills in Azle, however, since she is largely responsible for the need for additional space.
___The Mission House began as the small church's way to help two to three families in need within the congregation. The scope of ministry gradually grew until the center was helping about 50 families by last Christmas.
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___That was when the little girl and the big job began their arcs of convergence.
___Petry, the founder and president of Our Kids Care, a service organization made up of children ages 10 to 18, volunteered to help the Mission House provide Christmas for needy children.
___"During the 1999 Christmas season, those of us in the Mission House worked very hard to gather enough toys for the children that we knew were coming, and we were able to provide toys and clothing for 74 children," Mission House Director Wanda Grayson said. "It was a tremendous task, and we dreaded somewhat the task as the next Christmas approached.
___"You can imagine how thrilled we were to learn that a young 13-year-old girl wanted to know if she could assist us. We couldn't begin to know at that moment just what a great help she would be, and what a sense of relief it would bring. Because of Melissa, we were able to provide toys for 177 children, over 100 more than the year before," she said.
___Petry and her group secured three to four gifts for each child, as well as children's over-the-counter medicines and baby food.
___That was the beginning of a friendship that Grayson says has flourished.
___So has the ministry. One of the initial obstacles Petry had to overcome when finding gifts for the children was that the businesses she solicited had not heard of the Mission House. Now the Mission House is an integral part of the assistance to the community's needy.
___"Now we have the police department and the Chamber of Commerce sending people to us," Grayson said. "But before Melissa got involved, no one knew we existed."
___Not only do the business owners now know, so do those in need of help. Since Petry's involvement, the ministry has grown to more than 170 families, "and many of those have seven, eight and nine people in them," Grayson said.
___The Mission House is only one organization Petry's group has helped, however. She used a $500 grant from the Do Something Program to place 10 Christmas trees at businesses throughout the community and gather gifts. The gifts went to 409 children who would not have a Christmas otherwise.
___"A lot of organizations only work on Christmas for kids from birth through 7 years old. We get all the forgotten kids. We do the kids 8 to 14," Petry said.
___The teenager's involvement in the Mission House has become a year-round affair.
___"I call her when we need supplies, and she goes to businesses and gets them," Grayson said. "Also, if I don't have enough volunteers on distribution days, I can call Melissa and know that I'll have enough help."
___Petry especially concentrates on using grant funds and donations to secure over-the-counter children's medicines, diapers and baby formula for the center.
___The additional number of the people coming to the center for help has necessitated more space. The need is not just for storage of supplies but for room to keep those receiving ministery out of the elements.
___"Many of those we help are elderly people, and it's hard for them to be out in the heat and cold for the length of time they have to wait now," Grayson said. "But we simply don't have any place to put them."
___A Texas Baptist Men building team has set aside two weeks in the spring to construct the 10-foot by 15-foot addition, so Petry now is focusing on raising $5,000 to $7,000 needed for materials and to have the slab poured before the team arrives. So far about $2,500 has been raised.
___Despite her young years, Petry is an old hand at raising money for charitable causes.
___While Petry is not a member of the Castle Hills Church, but of Park Temple Baptist Church in Fort Worth, the church held a yard sale at her home that raised more than $1,100. Petry and Grayson are not sure where the remaining money is coming from, but both are certain God will provide.
___Petry's mother, Annette, said Grayson's faith has been a living testimony to her children.
___"I'm so glad my children have had the opportunity to be around Wanda because she's such a great Christian witness. This is a great woman of faith. She doesn't worry and just knows it's going to happen," she said.
___Grayson said she doesn't get upset that the ministerial alliance of the Azle community primarily supports the Community Caring Center, another local help agency, because "there are more than enough needy people to go around."
___Petry is hopeful, however, that some of the larger churches in the area, and possibly some from across the state, might recognize the ministry's importance and help with the construction costs.
___The eighth-grade student is working on more than just this one project, however. She also has applied for a grant for 40 mattresses for the Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth. The house provided lodging for more than 350 families last year, and the mattresses need to be replaced due to their constant use, Petry said.
___Petry maintains a long list of other projects, including meeting the needs of the elderly in a local nursing home who had not had visitors in months and working with the Presbyterian Night Shelter of Fort Worth.
___"My mom limits me to five major projects at a time," she explained.
___"I have to remind her sometimes that she is just one little girl and she can't save the whole world by herself," her mother concurred.
___Petry's efforts have been noticed. Among the awards she has garnered are the United Way Volunteer of the Year award for the city of Azle. And she was one of two youth honored for volunteer efforts by Gov. Rick Perry last spring. Petry's group, Our Kids Care, won the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Volunteer Group of the Year award.
___Petry recently applied for a grant from the Tarrant County Youth Collaboration called the Voice of Innovation award. Two awards are given annually, one for youth and one for corporations. After seeing Petry's list of accomplishments, the judges called her and asked permission to move her into the corporate realm, because the other youth could not compete. She has been notified that she has won the corporate award that went to the Fort Worth Independent School District the year before.
___Grayson, for one, is not surprised.
___"She's amazing. She's always doing something to keep me busy," she said.
___Hopefully, the money will continue to come in and she will be able to keep a group of Texas Baptist Men busy for a couple of weeks as well.
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