Dear Home Educator,

As we begin to prepare for the 2006/2007 school year it’s time to renew your group or individual MACHE membership. If you’ve never become a part of the state home education association it’s time to consider joining. We offer some very practical benefits and services to Maryland home schoolers for a very nominal fee.

The Maryland Association of Christian Home Educators is as association of several thousand member families and several hundred Christian-oriented home education organizations. These include support groups, support networks, and umbrella schools as well as individual membership if a family is not a part of a local member group. Our goal is to assist and serve the Christian Home Educators of Maryland through legislative oversight, leadership training, statewide events and information. The state association has been serving the home-educators of Maryland since 1989. MACHE is not a replacement or a substitute for the local support group or umbrella school but an organization set up to serve those local organizations. Our members must ascribe to our statement of faith.

Some of the benefits you’ll enjoy through MACHE membership include:

• Free entry for all your members to the Maryland State Curriculum Fair in April.
   
• Half price admission to other MACHE events such as the "Mom’s Day Out" seminar, symposiums, winter workshops and Historic Tours of Annapolis scheduled during the MACHE Home-school Legislative Education Day.
   
• Discount to membership in the Home School Legal Defense Association.
   
• Priority notification of limited attendance statewide events like the Homeschool Legislative Day and Historic Tours of Annapolis, The Umbrella School Symposium and other state-wide events.
   
• Membership card which will qualify you for discounts at many education oriented stores, outlets and vendors.

By joining MACHE your group will also help support the following MACHE services:

• Monitoring, education and action on state legislative activities.
   
• Operation of the state’s MinuteM.A.N. (Maryland Alert Network) Program.
   
• Assistance in resolving conflicts with local school officials.
   
• Scholarships to Patrick Henry College (Five $1000 scholarships granted by MACHE to Maryland home-schooled graduates).
   
• Referrals to local groups for new home schoolers.
   
• Information packets regarding home schooling in Maryland.
   
• Free statewide events like the Legislative Education Day, Umbrella School Administration Symposium, etc.
   
• State representation at National home education forums.
   
• Advice and assistance for local groups.

Our membership rates are modest but represent substantial savings for your group for MACHE services, HSLDA membership, etc. (refer to attached membership form or our web site, www.machemd.org, for rates). For example, if a group with 40 families joins MACHE for $39, and only half those families attend the Maryland State Curriculum Fair, they will save $161 dollars (it would have otherwise cost $200 for 20 non-members families to attend). Tack on discounts for other events and add in discounts for HSLDA membership. Then add in discounts for educational materials at participating vendors (usually 10%), and you realize a significant return on the original investment of the $39 membership fee for the group. Most importantly, you’ll be helping to provide other valuable and needed services to home schoolers throughout the state.

Please join or renew your membership today. But regardless, be faithful to the calling on your life and trust Him who called you to complete a good work in you and yours.

Sincerely,