Bulletins for BEAM
May 19, 2026
September Outreach Focus: Rhoda Martin Early Learning Center
By Susan Schantz
Ten years ago Christ Church broke ground on a building in the historic African-American Hill neighborhood in Jacksonville Beach, on the way to establishing the first (and still only) Early Headstart program on the beaches’ side of the intracoastal. Now that building houses the Rhoda Martin Early Learning Center, where Episcopal Children’s Services provides the Early Headstart program for 32 low-income children aged three and under from the surrounding neighborhood.
The church, which donated most of the money to buy the lot and build the schoolhouse, still owns and maintains the property and building, named for a formerly enslaved woman who started the beaches’ first school for African-American children in 1924.
Parishioner support skyrocketed after COVID, when Mother Amy recruited Joy Hardaker to expand participation at Rhoda Martin. More recently Susan Lycke has assumed the role of managing the volunteer program, which now includes some dozen parishioners engaged regularly in supplementing the curriculum in various ways in the classrooms; reading to the children; or helping with other activities that enrich the experiences of the children and support the teachers, such as holiday and teacher appreciation events and graduation. Parishioners have set up a food pantry to serve neighborhood families and painted the classrooms and hallways. Our youth group volunteered at Rhoda Martin during their Mission Week. Others donate various items on an evolving list of needs.
Rhoda Martin epitomizes the value of connecting our community partners to one another. Blessings in a Backpack sends weekend lunches and snacks home with the Rhoda Martin children; and the Diaper Bank of NE Florida, another CC grantee, provides the center with supplies for the youngest children. Volunteering with Rhoda Martin is a heartwarming opportunity to be God’s hands and feet in the world. To participate, contact Susan Lycke at 904-803-3845.
