Henry Fork 
Service Center
The Henry Fork Service Center, P.O. Box 888, Rocky Mount, VA 24151, is located two miles south of Rocky Mount, Virginia, just off highway 220, on Route 674. That is 23 miles north of Martinsville, and 27 miles south of Roanoke. Within the Danville District, this mission of the United Methodist Church has reached out to the children of this community with love, tempered with discipline and training.
The Henry Fork Service Center is a multipurpose mission outreach of the Danville District of the United Methodist Church. Its mission is "making God's love visible' in the Henry Fork Community: by acting as a positive Christian presence by being a place where children, youth and adults can come to spend creative time by offering a helping hand and listening ear to those with problems by exemplifying Christ as Lord and Savior to all persons in its caring ministry.
Our continuing goal is helping young people achieve their maximum potential in life. Many have stayed in school because of encouragement received. We have been told by teachers that children from Henry Fork Service Center are well prepared when they begin school.
Early childhood training begins with the two to four year olds. The joy of sharing, discovering and participating is taught using stories, pictures and play. Other programs involve groups from kindergarten through age sixteen in the afternoons and summer. Encouragement in scholastic achievement is a major goal, with some tutoring as needed. Christian values are taught as an integral part of the daily experience.
A large group of active, hungry students arrive on the school buses with
lots of pent up energy. Many resources are needed for games and activities
suitable to the various age groups, the weather, and the limits of time
and space.
A large
playing field is available for softball and active sports. Swings and
seesaws are in use. Various rooms of the one story center serve for games,
talk and study sessions. Videos, records and others resources are used.
Hobbies, crafts and special interests are encouraged. Outside resource
persons come to discuss health, careers, law enforcement, drugs or other
issues. Church groups come for
insight and sharing.
The HFS Center seeks to strengthen family values through positive role
modeling. We provide nurture and understanding. Referrals are made-to
community, health and counseling agencies.
Family
nights and picnics have helped to unite the community. Mothers meet for
sessions on nutrition, weight loss, exercise, cooking, sewing, and bible
study. Some,
mothers are giving volunteer time at the center.
The center operates a bus for children within a two mile
radius of the community. From 9:00 A.M. with the arrival of nursery
aged children, activities include free play, circle time for Bible stories
and sharing, a healthful snack, and preschool studies such as numbers,
alphabet and colors. Scheduled trips to the library, park, etc. may be
made with the children delivered home at noon.
In the afternoon, children arrive at the center by school bus
for supervised recreation, games and crafts. They are transported home by
the HFS Center bus. Summer activities include field trips, swimming, and
other events.
