Folded Gift Boxes

Super Easy Craft!!

All you need are square sheets of paper (12 x 12 scrapbooking papers work great) and some scissors. You can choose different patterns of paper for different occasions. For example, use Christmas paper for Christmas boxes.

This craft is easy...however whoever is leading the craft needs to make sure they are proficient at the folding technique, in order to make sure she can teach everyone. For help use the Mini Gift Box Folding Instruction Sheet to learn or even print copies to have at club.

For additional help watch the Etsy Paper Folding Instructional Video learning the technique.

Topic Clubs

Our area is pretty rural and has a pretty low overall population. It does, at least, have an alternative school, but that school does not have a program specifically for teen moms. As a result, a lot of girls don't stay in school or even if they do stay in school they haven't received a lot of parenting training or guidance.

After some prayer and discussion, our mentors decided we needed to step up. Since a lot of those needs and issues weren't being addressed for the girls anywhere else, we decided to start doing club twice a month and one night a month we would focus on a gospel message and the other night a month would be a 'TOPIC CLUB' where we would address issues or topics that would be relevant to the girls.

Some of the Topic Club themes were:
Safety (car seats, first aid, child proofing, etc)
Healthy Eating for Your Child (birth to four years)
Playing with your Child
Developmental Expectations
Sex and Dating
Finances and Money
Healthy Relationships (dating and non-dating)
Taking Care of Yourself

And just because the messages were based on a 'topic' did not mean we did not include God. We were able to incorporate God and scripture into the messages where appropriate, which was neat because even if school did provide some training on these topics, we know they would not include a perspective from God!

Baby Baby Mama Game

Okay...this is a super simple game that we played one time because some other game fell through at club. I did it half-heartedly, thinking it would just be okay. It turned out to be great fun! The girls all had a blast and were laughing and playing...like kids!!

Basically, it is 'Duck, Duck, Goose' with the words changed to 'Baby, Baby, Mama.' Everyone sits in a circle on the ground. One person is 'IT.' The person who is 'IT' walks around the outside of the circle. Each person she passes, she taps on the head and says, 'Baby.' Then she will tap someone's head saying 'Mama.' The person who is called 'Mama' has to get up and chase the 'IT' around the circle. The goal is for 'IT' to get back to the empty spot before the 'Mama' tags her. If she makes it back, the 'Mama' is now 'IT.' If the 'IT' gets tagged, then she takes another turn being 'IT."

The girls had a blast! I think it allowed them to be kids again for a few minutes. You do have to be careful with pregnant girls...just monitor to make sure they take it a little bit easy!

Candy Heart Bingo

Here is a game just in time for Valentine's Day!

Materials needed:
Candy Heart Bingo cards
(download and print on cardstock-26 different cards available)
1 bag Necco brand Sweethearts
bingo markers--1" squares of red or pink paper
(you will need roughly 20 per person)
one or more prizes
background music

At club give everyone a bingo sheet and some markers. Have a caller pull a heart from the bag and call it out. If it is on their sheet, they can mark it off. When they get a full row they call 'BINGO.' Or you can play a variety of games (an X, all the edges, or blackout).

For background music play cheesy love ballads.

Praying in Color

A great prayer idea for a mentor meeting or retreat is Praying in Color. Basically the idea is to doodle your prayers!

The idea comes from a book, Praying in Color by Sybil MacBeth (cover art to the left). Basically coloring, doodling and drawing prayers brings a new depth and focus to your prayer life. The website for Praying in Color has many ideas on how to use the concept, examples of people's prayers, as well as links for finding the book.

This would be a great exercise to change things up at your next mentor meeting or retreat. Either take time and lead everyone in the same prayer...or allow them to do it independently. Here is a Color Your Prayers Instructions sheet with four ideas of prayers to color.

Prayer Art © Sybil MacBeth

Club Sponsors

We all know how hard it can be to make sure we have a meal and childcare for club. And the dread when it is days or hours before club and we are still trying to find childcare or the meal! And we all know how much dealing with those details takes away from our time with girls and mentors!

An idea that we found worked terrifically is to have CLUB SPONSORS! We have one person (our Club Sponsor Coordinator) who starting in August, sends out letters or e-mails to different groups (many of them have done it before). Some of the groups we have asked are local MOPS groups, Bible study groups, church home groups, YL Campaigner groups, church Mission or Deacon boards, church women's groups, and even individuals who just have a lot of contacts.

In the initial letter/e-mail we ask the group to sponsor one night of YoungLives club. We give all the dates for club that year and explain the role of a sponsor. For us, the sponsoring group would agree to bring the meal and provide one or two people to help set up and clean up and also provide three to five people to help in the childcare during club. We also included the details of the time the meal needed to arrive, when set up and clean up was and the time childcare would occur, and how many the meal needed to be for.

Then our Sponsor Coordinator follows up with phone calls. Usually by mid-September she is able to get all the dates assigned. What a relief to have that done for the year!! Our Sponsor Coordinator then gives a reminder phone calls to the groups as their night approaches and communicates on what meals have been provided recently (to avoid a lot of repetition).

Some other pluses to having CLUB SPONSORS: you get lots of variety in the people who see YoungLives up close which can lead to them getting more involved as donors, mentors, committee or camp childcare; and it prevents the same people from being asked over and over again which helps avoid burn out of those volunteers.

Best New Christmas CD

If you're running behind and haven't picked out mentor, committee, donor or friend gifts, this is a fantastic pick!

The songs are spirit-filled and have been drawing me closer to Jesus all week. Highly recommend!

It's on sale at Amazon for 8.99. Click here to purchase.

Got Mentors?

Need mentors, childcare help, prayer? Find it at www.volunteermatch.org I recently posted an ad asking for help and received 8 inquiries right away! Now, you always have to be careful finding help on the internet, so make sure to set up an interview in person. I usually only respond once to their inquiry and pray that it actually goes somewhere. I also asked a woman if she was a Christian before meeting with her, she wasn't offended at all and actually was happy that it was a concern of mine! Now we have 3 new mentors because of an ad that I posted and it only took 5 minutes to sign-up!

Our post said this... "We are looking for Christian women who have a desire to see pregnant and parenting women in their teens meet Jesus. This ministry is just getting started in Chicago, so we need lots of helpers! We will need mentors, childcare workers, food help, baby donations, committee, prayer partners, and financial support! If interested, please respond so we can set up a meeting to get to know you!"

You will need our 501-C3 in order to qualify for free postings so here it is... 84-0385934

Shared by Erin Kennedy (Chicago YLives)

Party with a Purpose

I recently had the opportunity to take girls to a Young Life sponsored event called "Party with a Purpose," a spa day on steroids. We were greeted at the front door with a list of stations and 10 tickets to shop with. The volunteers had donated clothes, shoes, purses and jewelry, and the girls could use their shopping tickets however they wished. There were 2 hair stylists cutting and styling the girls hair, 2 makeup artists giving makeovers, and 3 volunteers at the manicure station. The food station was complete with pasta, pizza, chips, dessert and soda, and mid-way through the evening a server came out with a tray of hot chocolate and candy canes. If the girls needed more tickets, the sole purpose of station 6 was to give them out. A volunteer with a Santa hat on asked the girls trivia questions, and regardless if the answer was right or wrong, they got a ticket. The night came to an end with a Young Life style raffle. Gifts had been donated from all over: there were party dresses, perfume sets, purses, pedicure spas, and the grand prize, $50 cash. For the girls that didn't win a raffle prize, they received a cute pair of earrings. It was an incredible evening, and the 4 girls I brought left with bags full of goodies and huge smiles on their faces. They all felt loved, pampered and cared for!

submitted by Jordan Pitkin - San Diego, CA

School Relationships

I came on YoungLives staff last September (2008). I had a great connection at Grossmont High School where there is a daycare on campus. The director of the program is a christian, and I assumed that she would love what I was doing with girls. For an entire year, I felt like she kept me at arms length, and I wasn't allowed much freedom on campus.

At the end of the 08'-09' school year, I started to evaluate where YoungLives should go. Should we stay on Grossmont's campus? Should we try another school? I realized that I hadn't fully exercised all of my options.

In order for the school to trust me, I needed to show an interest in their program. How could I be a helping hand to the teachers and daycare workers at Grossmont? I asked the director if I could volunteer in the program, and she was delighted. Since I started volunteering in September, I have had full access in the teen mom program. I have good relationships with all the daycare workers, and the director is constantly asking my opinion on issues within the program. Volunteering on campus is a great way to get a foot in the door and create a reputation of reliability and trust.

Jordan Pitkin, San Diego YoungLives

Personalized Note Pads

These personalized boxes of note paper make great gifts for mentors or donors. They come packaged in kraft boxes, tied with ribbon. You can choose the paper color and font. Just for Grins gives a 10% discount to YL. (one of the owners is a YL staff wife!)

Each box is 7.50.

Check out their catalog of products at www.justforgrins.com

Life Interrupted, Tricia Goyer

Tricia Goyer was a teen mom herself and wrote Life Interrupted to address the basic needs that teen moms have. The content of this book is relevant to both teen moms as well as adults working with teen moms. There is good blend of stories, resources, advice and application.

Young Life has a 45% discount on this book through Zondervan if you'd like to order a copy to check it out as a resource for your ministry. (see below for ordering)

Back Cover :

One day you’re a typical student. You’re working part-time at McDonald’s to pay for your clothes and car. The next day, you’re a mother-to-be. You’re confused and scared. Emotional and standoffish. You feel like a kid, but now with a huge responsibility.

How could your life change so fast? Your youth wasn’t supposed to be packed with worries and obligations, Lamaze classes and daycare choices—and you’ve still got work and school to deal with. Whatever happened to fun, friendships, and dating? You’d do anything for your baby—but what about you? What about your needs?

Sharing stories from her own experience as a teenage mom and from other young mothers, Tricia Goyer shows you what to do about meeting nine basic needs that all young moms have. Needs such as the need to be appreciated, the need to know your life is not at a dead end, and the need to be loved. In Life Interrupted, you’ll meet lots of young moms just like you. You’ll also meet God, who cares about you very much.

Zondervan
zondervan.com
(800) 727-1309
45 percent discount

To order, call the number above, press 2 to place your order. Then press 0 to speak with an operator. Give the salesperson account number 9082419000 and your mission unit number. Invoice will come to Creative Services for coding. Invoice amount will be charged to your area account. Attention International Staff: To order books online, you will need to set up an international trade account with Zondervan. Simply e-mail Carrie Colter to request an international trade account for your area.

Campaigners lesson for Christmas/Advent-5 weeks

Below is an explanation of the Season of Advent (I got it from my daughter's Preschool, so it is easy to comprehend and interact with).

It can be used for the basis of a 5 week Christmas Campaigners (or Advent) or all used in one lesson. You can even bring some candles to use that as a visual or a tradition that the girls might want to use at home to celebrate the arrival of our Lord!

Feel free to adapt it as needed!

Advent or arrival, especially of something extremely important~

In Christian life, it is a four-week time of preparation and anticipation. We celebrate Jesus’ first coming when he was born a human baby on Christmas Eve and later became our teacher and Savior. We also anticipate Jesus’ promised second coming when He will rule the world.

Making an Advent wreath is a great way to prepare the mind and hearts of your family members for Jesus’ birthday celebration!

First Sunday of Advent—purple “Candle of Hope” Sunday, November 29, 2009

We can have hope because God is faithful and will keep the promises he made to us. Our hope comes from God.

And the prophet Isaiah said, “The heir to David’s throne will come, and he will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hopes on him.” So I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:12-13)

Second Sunday of Advent—purple “Candle of Peace” Sunday, December 6, 2009

Preparation means to get ready and with preparation comes peace. “Help us to be ready to welcome YOU, O GOD!”

This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and was preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had turned from their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. (Mark 1:4)

May grace and peace be yours, sent to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. (Ephesians 1:2)

Third Sunday of Advent—pink “Candle of Joy” Sunday, December 13, 2009

The angels sang a message of Joy!

Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return to Jerusalem, singing songs of everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be overcome with joy and gladness. (Isaiah 35:10)

Fourth Sunday of Advent—purple “Candle of Love” Sunday, December 20, 2009

God sent his only Son to earth to save us, because he loves us!

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. (John 3:16-17)

Christmas Eve (after sunset)—white “Christ Candle” Thursday, December 24, 2009

The white candle reminds us that Jesus is the spotless Lamb of God, sent to wash away our sins! His birth was for his death; his death was for our birth! Jesus is the light of the world.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

BRRRRRRRRR....

Frozen T-Shirt Game:

Call up three "volunteers" to participate in this challenge. Give each girl a frozen t-shirt to unfold (freezing instructions below). The first girl to unfold the t-shirt and put it on is the winner! ...and she gets to keep the shirt. This can take a little while depending on how frozen the t-shirts are but it's guaranteed to get everyone laughing!

Prep:
1. Get 3 t-shirts - YL shirts work great!
2. You can wad them up or fold them flat
3. Dip the t-shirts in water
4. Freeze overnight

Roxanne In Her Red Dress

Call up a few girls and mentors to participate in this crazy (and

messy!) game. All you need is saltines + soda + willing mentors +

"Roxanne" (by The Police). The girls stand behind the mentors and act

as their hands holding saltines and soda. Every time they sing

"Roxanne" mentors have to take a sip of soda and every time they sing

the words "red light" mentors have to eat a saltine. This can get

mighty messy so be sure to lay down some plastic on the floor before

hand!