CLEVELAND, Ohio—Sister Mary Kay Conkey was a school teacher for many years and saw that many students needed some help outside of the classroom.
- House of Champions is a program run by nuns to help kids learn life skills
- House of Champions kids are typically in 2nd to 4th grade and are selected by their teachers and principals at 3 local schools
- This year, the program opened their second home
“The situations go from three siblings last year, the mother died, the father was raising them but he couldn’t handle it, so Grandma’s got a house full of kids, so we took all three kids. Another situation was two girls living with their godmother because their mother was deported,” said Conkey, House of Champions.
In 2013, Conkey joined up with sisters from two other religious congregations — and the House of Champions was born.
“We started that September with 8 children and it was wonderful. The kids all had a wonderful time. We teach life skills, social skills, how to set a table, how to eat at a table,” said Conkey.
The program takes kids from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. after school.
This year, the program opened their second home, allowing them to go from 8 students to 24.
“It’s all done by the grace of God because nothing happens this fast... nothing happens this quickly,” said Conkey.
The House of Champions kids are typically in 2nd to 4th grade and are selected by their teachers and principals at 3 local schools.
“I like how the house looks and I like that everybody’s here, you get to meet new kids and stuff,” said a student.
The adults at the House of Champions are mostly volunteers.
“Just the life skills and things that they just no longer get at home, so that’s why we call everyone a champion and just work on respecting each other, being kind to each other, taking turns... that interaction is so important with other students,” said Conkey.
Conkey says watching the kids leave with higher academic scores and smiles on their faces makes it all worth it.
“We’re all so... just so proud of this, the sisters really, we’ve done a nice job, it’s come together. That’s why I really have to stress it really is the grace of God,” said Conkey.
For ways to donate to the House of Champions, you can visit their website.
