www.ppas.org | Page 7 From Passion to Purpose: Four ServantsVolunteer with Love M inta McIntosh, Barbara and Don Kiser, and Jeanne Stone live in 3 different cities, are members of 3 churches, and yet each of them agrees on the single reason they keep giving their time and talents to PPAS. Engaging with our students. Minta, a deacon at First Presbyterian Church in Georgetown, TX, is a life-long Presbyterian. She grew up and raised her family in the Rio Grande Valley, and has known about PPAS since it was the Texas-Mexican Industrial Institute. Barbara and Don “fell in love” with Pan Am and its students when Barbara served two terms on PPAS’ Board of Directors. They introduced the school to their friend, Jeanne. Soon after, Jeanne’s creative mind burst with ideas. “When my time [on the Board] was up, we just had to stay involved, and tell others about it,” Barbara recalls. “Serving and engaging with those kids is one of the best things I have done.” All four of them have volunteered for PPAS in their own churches and on the Pan Am campus. When Student Ambassadors and our Morris Chapel Choir have visited their churches, they hosted students in their homes, helped plan activities for PPAS kids and their church’s youth, and provided meals. Since 1999 Minta has brought to campus work groups from the churches for which she has worked and served. Jeanne and the Kisers enjoy pairing the kids’ and the school’s needs with their abilities and talents, and creating unique volunteer opportunities. “We got the idea several years ago to clean and send to the girls prom dresses that had been worn once,” Jeanne said. “It was so well received that we expanded the concept into a mobile consignment market. We take donations from churches in our area, and bring them down to PPAS to sell to the kids at very reduced prices. Proceeds go to the students’ class accounts.” Minta credits PPAS with changing not only the lives of its students, but of her mission work group youth, as well. “Every Pan Am kid I’ve ever met has a strong love for God,” she says. “When my youth learn the students’ stories, and hear about what they have left behind and risked to come to PPAS, their hearts are transformed. Every time.” Minta McIntosh, left. Left to right: Jeanne Stone, Barbara Kiser, and Don Kiser