Love in Action is Unstoppable: Cornerstone Family Ministries & The United Women in Faith

Members of St. Andrew’s United Women in Faith spent a great morning on Friday, March 6, visiting Cornerstone Family Ministries in Tampa to learn more about their work serving children and families throughout the area. Through time spent with staff, classroom visits with the children at the Rosa Valdez Early Learning Center, and a tour of the historic Wolff Center in Ybor City, we experienced firsthand the heart of Cornerstone’s mission. The visit offered a beautiful reminder of the life-changing impact of ministries dedicated to nurturing children and strengthening families.

Our morning began over coffee with Cathy Stone, Executive Director of Cornerstone Family Ministries, where we learned about Cornerstone’s history with Rosa Valdez, the namesake of the Rosa Valdez Early Learning Center. Valdez, in 1892 with her own funds and the help of benefactors, established a small school in her west Tampa neighborhood during the era of segregation serving the plight of immigrant children. Afterward, we attended Friday’s children’s chapel with Cindy Cisco who led the children in song…they were excited and precious with their robust singing and animation.

Leaving chapel, we divided up into the classrooms, some going to 2-, 3-, 4-, & 5-year-olds. We played with Play-Doh, read to them, and helped with puzzles, all the

while each of the children wanted to hug us; to tell us their names and all about themselves. Some of us got to rock and hold the babies. We all agreed that God, with the teachers and staff are doing amazing things at the Rosa Valdez Early Learning Center.

After leaving the Rosa Valdez Early Learning Center, we drove to the Wolff Center, named after Eliza Wolff, in Ybor City. This is the original United Women in Faith settlement from 1892. Wolff, who wintered in Tampa, pleaded with the Women’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church South (today known as United Women in Faith) to form a mission school for the immigrants living in east Tampa. We toured the administrative hub of Cornerstone and learned about their outreach to 150 Daycare Centers in five (5) counties, helping them follow good nutritional meals for their children. 

Our group then proceeded to their garden at the back of the property, established for the surrounding community. We had lunch from La Segunda Bakery and a freshly prepared salad from the garden. We toured their Health Hub (close to a remodeling completion) that will teach children and families about healthy food. Using produce from the garden, they will teach healthy choices, prepare a meal with the families, and send them home with produce.

Our Call to Prayer and Self-Denial program on Sunday, March 8 included an offering going directly to our National Mission Institutions, of which Cornerstone Family Ministries is one of the original institutions.

We were blessed to have had a beautiful day outdoors and enjoyed time with the precious children and staff from Cornerstone Family Ministries, a United Women in Faith and St. Andrew's UMC community partner.

Join us in making an impact locally and globally with United Women in Faith! Contact Shari Gillis, UWFaith-Gulf Central District of the Florida UMC Conference at sharimgillis.umw@gmail.com or Carolyn Miller, UWFaith President-St. Andrew's UMC at wareaglemom2002@gmail.com to learn more about how you connect and can make a difference. Visit the United Women in Faith website at United Women in Faith | Love in Action to learn more about the UWFaith mission and vision.

Also, visit the Cornerstone Family Ministries website for more information on how they are helping children and families thrive in the Tampa Bay Area at CORNERSTONE.

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