The Friday Finish - Tuition Eliminated - "Bright Side" Finishes 6th - These Pests Rob Us - Talent from Opening to Finale - Wild West Welcome - Walking Easier - 5 Medal - Fresh Air
- Tim Crawford
- May 16
- 8 min read
May 15, 2026
Board Eliminates Tuition Requirement
Everyone knows that spiraling costs are putting pressures on all households, and the effect is even greater in middle and low income households. After discussing for years the dilemma requiring every student pay tuition between $100 and $610 to offset the annual education cost of approximately $7,000 per student at Red Bird Christian School (RBCS), the Red Bird Mission Board of Directors took action yesterday to eliminate the tuition requirement beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.
The Education Committee renewed the issue in its report on improving enrollment to the spring quarter board meeting citing that families are not coming to Red Bird Christian School because they cannot pay the tuition. Patty Vance, Alumni Association President and the RBCS 4th-5th Grade teacher attested that she had visited families along Jack’s Creek to ask them to apply for the upcoming school year. She found that about half were applying but the other half cited the tuition requirement was keeping them from enrolling at RBCS.
The hope is that families will choose RBCS if the financial burden of paying tuition is totally removed. Principal Jennifer Wilder has shared many times with Red Bird Mission Work Camp volunteers and visitors,
“We don’t want tuition to be a barrier to children coming to Red Bird Christian School. That’s why our tuition is so low and we have to raise support to cover expenses.”
Red Bird Christian School and Mission Development staff were charged to begin working on publicizing the new policy so that families can make application in the next few weeks leading up to the start of school. They will also be reaching out to ask existing school supporters to consider increasing or setting up recurring support, and seek out other potential supporters that want to help further the school’s mission statement:
Red Bird Christian School, guided by Jesus Christ, empowers individuals by providing opportunities for spiritual growth and academic excellence for lifelong learning, leadership, and service.
“Bright Side” Donors Place 6th on KY Gives Day Leaderboard
The Red Bird Mission and Red Bird Clinic theme for Tuesday’s Kentucky Gives Day was inspired by a comment left by someone that had received assistance saying, “They helped me have food, clothes, and they helped me look at life different and look at the bright side of life."
The online giving response on May 12th alone catapulted Red Bird to 6th place on the KY Gives Day leaderboard among the 303 nonprofit organizations participating across the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Fifty-six (56) donors responded to the appeal to help someone see the bright side of life through giving to sustain Red Bird Mission, Inc. and Red Bird Clinic, Inc., programs fighting hunger, improving health, repairing homes and providing opportunities for a better life. The final tally publicized on the Kentucky Gives Day site for Red Bird Mission showed a total of $23,400 raised for the giving day. That total included $8,275 of matching funds pledged by committed donors, Red Bird board members, and the sponsoring organization, Kentucky Nonprofit Network, to incentivize giving on May 12th.
These Pests Rob Us
The meeting space in the Mission Annex was packed again Tuesday as the Red Bird Grow Appalachia (GA) members discussed the myriad of pests that damage and destroy vegetable crops at the monthly growers meeting. Pino Brock, Red Bird Grow Appalachia Coordinator, opened with prayer and introduced Mark Walden, Berea College Grow Appalachia Associate Director of Production Programming who began by asking growers what garden pests were impacting their gardens. The discussion began with some of the obvious four and two-legged creatures many experience crop loss from such as deer, crows, and rabbits that eat both plants and vegetables. The next hour of discussions yielded methods shared by Walden and experienced GA members on controlling excessive water, insects (adult, larvae and eggs), fungi, bacteria and nutritional imbalances. Since Grow Appalachia promotes food production utilizing organic and humane methods of pest control, the presentation offered pest control options to lead to a safer food supply.
The meeting adjourned with members receiving organic pest control concentrates and a small nursery flat of bedding plants - tomato, pepper, squash, cucumber and melon - ready for transplanting. Meeting registration and the distribution of the supplies went rapidly this month thanks to the nursing student volunteers from Malone University assisting Pino.
Talent Proven from Opening to Finale
The Spring Music Program of Red Bird Christian School was proof to families and friends gathered in the Ehresman Chapel Tuesday night that Red Bird students possess a high level of musical talent. That talent is being honed by Nate Smallwood, Music Director, and Mark Smallwood, Volunteer Music Teacher. Elementary, middle school and high school students performed almost flawlessly in band and choral. Each song was approved with vigorous, hearty applause.
It was Senior Trever Osborne’s last performance as a Cardinal saxophonist. There were tears all around and lumps in throats as Trever was the feature playing Henri Mancini’s, “The Pink Panther Theme” accompanied by Mark Smallwood on keyboard, Nate Smallwood on drums and Alexis Akers on triangle. The audience gave a standing ovation and tearful words of gratitude and hugs were offered back and forth between Trever, Nate and Mark after a perfect rendition of the classic theme.
Silver Games: A Wild West Welcome at DeWall Senior Citizens Center
I went to my first ever “Silver Games” this week at the DeWall Senior Center in Beverly, and I’ll be honest– I wasn’t ready for all the fun.
The theme this year was “Wild West,” and everywhere you looked you could see how much thought had gone into it. The decorations, the games, the prizes, the food, even the way the tables were set up– it all carried that same thread of hospitality and “were glad you're here.” I don't know why it surprised me. That’s such a southeastern Kentucky thing to do: take care of our people and make them feel special.
But this wasn’t just a cute themed party. The Silver Games were also a way to invite more neighbors to sign up for the DeWall Senior Citizens Activity Center and see what it’s about. The center meets on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Folks come together for light physical activities like Bingocize® to keep moving, they work on crafts and quilting projects, and they take fun outings together– like trips to the Red Bird Community Store.
Signing up for DeWall matters for a lot of reasons. It keeps our elders active. It gives them a reason to get out of the house, to laugh, to learn something new. It helps them keep making friendships and, just as important, it lets them be a light for other people in the room. So many seniors in our area feel like they've been forgotten. At DeWall, that could not be further from the truth.
The center has also grown from being an “all female” crowd to now welcoming men as well. Bob Smith, one of the DeWall Center participants, summed it up perfectly when I asked if he’d enjoyed himself at the Silver Games. He grinned and said, “I love this. I love talking to people.”
Elderly Ministries Coordinator Tammy Adams was thrilled with how the day went. A total of 21 seniors came out from Clay and Bell counties, supported by four helpers from Malone University, plus Tracy Nolan and her two daughters, Samantha and Sydney, pitching in all day. That made about 30 people in the center, and by the end of it, two new seniors had signed up to be a part of the DeWall family.
From the Wild West games to the sound of laughter around the tables, the Silver Games showed exactly what DeWall Senior Citizens Center is about: giving our elders a place to belong, to be seen and to keep shining in these hills.
Kayla Smith – Development Gifts and Media
Walking Easier, Healthier
Wednesday, eight people tried on shoes at Red Bird Mission’s Schaeffer Building that they’ve needed to alleviate foot pain and improve circulation due to their diabetes condition, and smiles were showing their seals of satisfaction. They applied and received assistance through the University of Kentucky’s Homeplace Diabetic Shoe Clinic. The program has partners with Red Bird Community Outreach several times each year to extend this needed service into the remote communities served by Red Bird Mission.
Five Medal at Region Championships
The improvements and accomplishments for Red Bird Christian School (RBCS) Track and Field have been impressive for the youthful team this year. Every Cardinal athlete competing in Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) Class A Region 6 Track and Field Championships on Thursday evening at University of the Cumberlands Taylor Stadium in Williamsburg, Kentucky performed at high level.
The Boys 4 x 800 relay team comprised of Gift Kayeye, Abenzer Dukamo, Josue Ibuka and Isaac Mundala took home 6th place medals with a time of 9:55.45. Ashton Lewis also picked up a 6th place medal in the Boys Discus throwing 111’ 3” in 6 attempts. Sophomore Kadence Nolan, the lone Lady Cardinal competing yesterday, finished 15th out of 26 in the 100 meter dash and 11th out of 22 in the 200 meter dash.
Region championships only allow 2 athletes per school per event so only six Cardinal athletes competed. Twenty-three Class A teams from the eastern Kentucky region were represented. The limited number of entries with so many teams present means a finish in the middle of the event is impressive.
Coach Angela Crawford, assisted by Coach Natasha Howard, focuses on the running events while Coach Clifford Berry specializes with the field athletes. All three coaches celebrated the accomplishments of each athlete through the year especially in light of the fact that RBCS has no track or field training facilities.
A Breath of Fresh Air in the Holler: New Hands and Kind Hearts
It’s a rare thing, sometimes, to see young folks coming down into these hills with their hearts wide open, ready to listen as much as they are to lead. But this week, we’ve been blessed with nursing students from Malone University up in Ohio who’ve been walking these paths with us at Red Bird Mission. They came here for a "cultural rotation," as the schools call it, but around here, we just call it being a good neighbor. From the moment they stepped foot on the grounds, they didn't shy away from the hard work or the quiet stories. They’ve been right in the thick of it—sorting through food boxes for folks and helping young mothers navigate the baby pantry to make sure the little ones have what they need. They even took to the delicate work of helping our neighbors with medical needs, showing a kind of tenderness that you just can’t teach in a classroom.
One of the girls mentioned how she wanted to see a way of life different from what she knew back home. Her classmate told us it felt like a true blessing just to be here and lend a hand. It warms the spirit to hear that, because sometimes folks from the outside look at Appalachia and only see what we’re lacking. These students, though? They saw the people. They saw the soul of this place.
They’ve been a huge help getting things ready for our senior services, too. We’ve got the Silver Games coming up—a big Western-themed shindig for our elders—and the energy these students brought has been like a breath of fresh air. We’re also getting ready to hand out those blessing boxes—hand-painted treasures filled with food, seeds, and prayers sent over by the People Who Care group at Berea College. It’s a beautiful thing to see so many hands, from near and far, joining together to look after our own. Having these young nursing students here reminds us that even though our mountains can be steep and the days can be long, there’s a whole lot of love flowing through this mission.
Kayla Smith – Development Gifts and Media
If you'd like to receive a copy of The Friday Finish in your email inbox each week, click the Subscribe button the bottom of our webpage.
Comments