Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Sometimes, need doesn’t fit into a tidy box. The Home School Foundation wants to reach those needs, too. Hear more from Foundation director Chuck Hurst and HSLDA President Mike Smith, on today’s Home School Heartbeat.

Mike Smith:
There are many homeschooling families who don’t fall into any special category but still face hard financial situations. Chuck, does the Foundation help ordinary families who are having a rough time?

Chuck Hurst:
We certainly do. Through our Compassion Fund, we reach out to homeschoolers who face temporary stressful circumstances such as a sudden layoff, a family emergency, or a natural disaster. A mother of five from Iowa wrote us recently, describing her family’s situation during the flooding there. We were glad to be able to help them.

Our basement got several inches of water in one night and stayed this way for a couple of weeks. When the rain finally slowed and the water stopped coming in, we faced a new problem: mold.

We lost our homeschool curriculum—books, workbooks, papers, supplies, and important files. Most of all, we lost half our house. Our basement is where we conduct school every day.

FEMA did come out and decided not to help us, because basements aren’t considered “essential” to the home. However, our basement was our schoolroom and critically essential. Also, we now owe more on our home than it is worth, due to damages.

Through all of this—even as the water was rushing into our basement destroying everything—we knew, and still know, that God is taking care of us, no matter what.

Mike:
The Home School Foundation does a great work of benevolence to hundreds of families every year. Chuck, thanks for bringing these stories to our listeners. And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.