Trinity Lutheran Church

Buddy Break is our most recent effort to show the love of God in Christ, by meeting the needs of members of our community. The specific need we meet is for parents who can use a brief respite from caring for their Special Needs child. A startling statistic is that 80% of the marriages which have Special Needs children end in divorce. The stresses are great and there is not enough time in the day to focus on being a couple. Buddy Break is designed to give these families a break by offering compassionate care for their children, while these parents take a three-hour-break to do whatever they choose.

The need is HUGE. In order to meet that need, we need more Buddies. Buddies must attend a two-hour training session, and complete a national background check. Then they can serve as they are able. Buddies do not need to commit to every month. Buddy Break is held on the second Saturday morning in January, March, May, July, September and November (odd months) and on Friday evenings in February, April, June, August, October and December (even months). Our VIP's are with us from 10 AM to 1 PM during odd months. We ask our Buddies to arrive 45 minutes early to prepare. During even months, our VIP's are with us from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM and we again ask our Buddies to arrive 45 minutes in advance. Youth must be 14 to be a Buddy, but younger youth may assist a parent who is a Buddy. We would really like to train as many Buddies as possible Our capacity to take VIP's is limited by the number of volunteers we have signed up for each Buddy Break date.

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Buddy Break Q&A

Q. What is Buddy Break?

A. Buddy Break is a free kids/respite program where kids with special needs (VIP kids) make new friends, play fun games, enjoy crafts, therapy dogs, stories, music, activities and more! Siblings have fun too! Meanwhile, their caregivers get a break from their ongoing care-giving responsibilities for three hours one Friday night or one Saturday morning a month.

Q.   Will I be going into someone’s home to serve as a buddy?

A:  No. Buddy Break is a respite care program where parents bring their children here to Trinity. You have a unique opportunity to reach out to the Richmond community and not even leave church!

Q.  If I sign up to be a Buddy, do I have to commit to every Buddy Break?

A. No. We appreciate any time you can give. Buddy Break will be one Saturday morning or one Friday evening during the month. This equates to about 3.5 hours of your time each Buddy Break. Respite care is essentially the gift of time. 

Q.  I would like to help in the Buddy Break program, but not as a buddy.  Is there room for me?

A.  Yes! There are many areas to serve in this outreach ministry. Areas of involvement beyond being a buddy to a VIP child include: music time, crafts, story time, meal preparation, administrative assistance, parent support, nurse, and many more!

Q.  I have never worked with children with disabilities. Am I qualified?

A.  Every buddy will attend a two-hour Buddy 101 Training where you will learn about disabilities and get some tips on interacting with children with various special needs. A loving heart, a desire to serve, and show God’s love to these children and their families is all you really need!

Being a Buddy is just one way to help. There are many others. Please contact Carolyn Hassan or Randy Ronning to see what other needs there are. If you know of a parent of a Special Needs child or youth or adult, please share a Buddy Break brochure with them. These can be found in the church narthex/commons area. 

You can view Buddy Break in action on You Tube. Search for Journey Christian Church, Buddy Break.