Volunteers

meet the Norvells

Benjamin, Class of '18
Levi, Class of '20
Ellen, Class of '22

Presbyterian School has a culture that fosters a family community in the School that supports each other and reaches out to Houston and beyond. We’ve seen a community that celebrates joys as well as responds to needs. Whether it’s a charitable fundraiser, a day of service, or an individual going through a tough time, the PS community will respond to provide support where it’s needed.

PS has been a home for our kids since our oldest son Benjamin started Beta in 2007. We are also members of First Presbyterian Church, so we’re regularly on campus six days a week—our home away from home!  What drew us to the School originally is what has kept us here: a small, tight-knit community of like-minded parents; warm, caring teachers and administrators invested in our kids; and an educational environment that addresses the whole child, including the development of a Christ-like servant attitude through the School’s core values.  The alignment of these ideals contributes to a “sticky environment” that continually draws our family closer to the School and makes us feel at home.

To be honest, we’re not sure our kids would be at Presbyterian School today without the focus of tying family, school, and church together. The School’s mission is a differentiator in today’s world. Many schools give lip service to teaching spiritual leadership, but PS lives it out and isn’t shy about stating that the School’s mission is also Christ’s mission and one that looks to engage the family, school, and church in serving.

We live in Braes Heights, one block from Brays Bayou. Hurricane Harvey hit our area hard. While we were fortunate to avoid flooding in our home, many in a three to four block radius of us flooded with several feet of water. On the first day after the waters receded, we saw one neighbor hauling flooded furniture to the curb, and we knew how we could help.

In May 2015, we had been through a flood event when our second home and vacation rental business on the Blanco River in Wimberley was literally washed away in the Memorial Day  weekend flood. The outpouring of support from individuals, churches, and other organizations in the aftermath of the flood was so heartwarming and comforting at a time when we were completely overwhelmed with what to do in the clean-up efforts. Day after day scores of volunteers showed up to help us with the debris and fallen tree cleanup efforts, and we are eternally grateful for all that they did. After Harvey, we knew what needed to be done and felt we were in our neighborhood for a reason.

Those most impacted by Harvey’s devastation would be in shock and could use a tremendous amount of physical and emotional support in dealing with the most immediate aftermath, such as clearing out furniture, keepsakes, sheetrock, etc. We sent emails and text messages to parents in our grade levels and to church members, and the response was amazing.  We set up a makeshift “command center” in front of our home with all the basic ingredients needed to support recovery efforts: a white board with addresses of homes in need and what was needed at each; ice chests of drinks; tables of food; and all the basic work supplies you could think of—hammers, crowbars, gloves, trash bags, bleach, etc. 

Before long, people began to come to us to ask for supplies, food, or help at their respective homes. Younger kids played at our house while parents and siblings worked in the immediate area. Dolleys and wheelbarrows and work gloves came and went, and came and went again. Neighbors stopped by for drinks or a quick chat. Cellphones buzzed with messages from church and school friends wanting to help. Pleas came in from other neighbors who saw the efforts and asked for a team to come to their house. We ended up working for eight days with teams of volunteers helping at 40 homes, although we lost count at some point. There were so many adults and kids from the School and church community working for hours day after day to help those in need in our neighborhood. This community effort truly reflected the generosity and servant attitude of so many in the PS community.

While Harvey and its aftermath have been, and continue to be, trying, there was a silver lining in all the generosity that sprang up from this event.  We can never fully understand God’s plans, but we believe that this could certainly have been a wake-up call from Him to get out and serve others.