CHEF OF ALABAMA

P. O. Box 20208
Montgomery , AL 36120-0208

2/9/2008

Dear Fellow Homeshoolers,                                                                                   

Do you remember the day you finally decided you were going to homeschool your children?  Do you remember thinking, "How do you teach children at home?"  "What subjects are required, and how will I teach the subjects I may not understand myself?"  "Will my children be educated well enough to be accepted by a college?".  

Parents currently involved in teaching their children at home clearly remember those early days.  It may have been a struggle to change direction from the government educating their children to assuming parental responsibility.  Or it may have been quite overwhelming in the beginning.    

In the last ten years, there has been an explosive growth of families educating their children at home, and nationally we are seeing a 15% growth in homeschooling annually.  This is the very reason Christian Home Education Fellowship (CHEF) came into existence.  Early homeschooling parents saw a need for an organization from which new homeschoolers could receive information, guidance, and encouragement. Daily, telephone calls are received at the CHEF office from parents wanting to know how to begin homeschooling their children, calls requesting information concerning the location of a church school in their area, or calls from parents needing encouragement to stay the course.    

CHEF's goal and mission is to serve the people of Alabama and help them educate their children at home.  One of the major ways we try to assist parents is by providing the Christian Home Education Fellowship State Convention.  Curriculum vendors from across the nation are invited to participate in order to personally serve homeschooling families. As well, it provides much needed encouragement through a variety of seminars, workshops, and keynotes to parents who are considering homeschooling for the first time or parents who have taught their children at home for many years.  The Convention also serves as an opportunity for parents to say to their children, "These children are being educated at home just like you."  Recently, a board member received an email in which a mother said, "The convention gives us weary parents a "shot in the arm" for another year.  We love the older, experienced HS speakers who have been where we are, and are now seeing the results of their labors.  I can FEEL the loss of enthusiasm in my resolve when we don't make it to the convention, and I have heard many other moms say the same thing.  We also love the vendor hall."   The CHEF Board understands there are thousands of parents in Alabama needing help, but they also know CHEF cannot do it alone.  We need you to help us carry the homeschool message to all parts of Alabama .

CHEF has only one part-time paid employee who performs many tasks including receiving telephone calls and mailing information packets out to parents seeking assistance.  All other parents serving on CHEF's Board of Directors do so without compensation because of their deep commitment to its mission.  

If you have been helped by the CHEF Convention, received help from our office, or just believe in its mission of assisting parents who choose to home educate their children, will you prayerfully consider making a non-tax deductible donation to CHEF to help us continue our mission to support homeschooling families in Alabama? They need to know they can educate their children at home in a Christian atmosphere as God intends.  

Thank you for your support and prayers.  We pray that 2008 will be a very blessed year for you and your family.

Sincerely, 

Chris Christian, President
CHEF of Alabama