Phelps gospel family sings to benefit Equality Christian Center School
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Phelps Brothers and The Phelps Sisters and maybe even some Phelps cousins will be helping to raise money for the Equality Christian Center School.
The brothers and sisters -- daughters of David Phelps -- will be singing gospel music 7 p.m. Saturday at the Equality Christian Center. School Principal Fred Stacy said the fundraiser came about through Phelps sister Brook Jackson who has children attending the school.
Besides the gospel music entertainment Stacy said there will be giveaways through the evening.
Equality Christian Center School is a kindergarten through 12th grade school serving about 40 students that began in 1979.
The money raised is targeted toward playground equipment and a new program Stacy called K4 -- an instructional program intended to instill social building skills in four-year-olds, Stacy said.
"It's taking four-year-olds and getting them ready for kindergarten," Stacy said.
The school uses the A-Beka curriculum designed for Christian education.
Since 1992 the school has been affiliated with the Heartland Christian Conference which is a network of at least seven Christian schools throughout Southern Illinois including those in West Frankfort, Carbondale and Murphysboro.
The conference offers competitions between schools in basketball, volleyball and other sports.
"Each year we have the Bible Academic Competition in Williamson County that involves language, math and science projects and displays," Stacy said.
There are also activities in music and drama.
"It gives kids a chance to compete other than in the athletic realm," Stacy said.
The school has had many fundraising causes since it began, some large and some as simple as students selling candles.
"When you are small and tuition-based you are about always in a certain level of fundraising," Stacy said.
The school holds a Pancake Day once a year and offers a snack booth at the Independence Day celebration at the Eldorado High School Sports Complex.
Stacy said he hopes to get the school involved in area parades as part of a new marketing push for the school.
"People haven't heard much about us. We are not really aggressive in terms of publicity," Stacy said.
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DeNeal receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com</li>
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