Ideas for YoungLives

Unequal Childhoods

2012-01-13T13:34:00.000-08:00

Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race and Family Life

Class does make a difference in the lives and futures of American children. Drawing on in-depth observations of black and white middle-class, working-class, and poor families, Unequal Childhoods explores this fact, offering a picture of childhood today. Here are the frenetic families managing their children's hectic schedules of "leisure" activities; and here are families with plenty of time but little economic security. Lareau shows how middle-class parents, whether black or white, engage in a process of "concerted cultivation" designed to draw out children's talents and skills, while working-class and poor families rely on "the accomplishment of natural growth," in which a child's development unfolds spontaneously--as long as basic comfort, food, and shelter are provided. Each of these approaches to childrearing brings its own benefits and its own drawbacks. In identifying and analyzing differences between the two, Lareau demonstrates the power, and limits, of social class in shaping the lives of America's children.

The first edition of Unequal Childhoods was an instant classic, portraying in riveting detail the unexpected ways in which social class influences parenting in white and African-American families. A decade later, Annette Lareau has revisited the same families and interviewed the original subjects to examine the impact of social class in the transition to adulthood.

Code of the Street

2012-01-11T13:25:00.000-08:00

Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City

Inner-city black America is often stereotyped as a place of random violence; in fact, violence in the inner city is regulated through an informal but well-known code of the street. How you dress, talk, and behave can have life-or-death consequences, with young people particularly at risk. The most powerful force counteracting this code and its reign of terror is the strong, loving, decent family, and we meet many heroic figures in the course of this narrative. Unfortunately, the culture of the street thrives and often defeats decency because it controls public spaces, so that individuals with higher, better aspirations are often entangled in the code and its self-destructive behaviors. Writing in the tradition of Jane Jacobs and William Julius Wilson, the author delineates the true workings of city streets. His most interesting characters are not the bullies and dealers, but the decent folks, young and old, who through entrepreneurship and creative self-help strategies are forging a viable alternative, an escape from the code of the street. Winner of the Komarovsky Book Award, this incisive book examines the code as a response to the lack of jobs that pay a living wage, to the stigma of race, to rampant drug use, to alienation and lack of hope. An individual's safety and sense of worth are determined by the respect he commands in public—a deference frequently based on an implied threat of violence. Unfortunately, even those with higher aspirations can often become entangled in the code's self-destructive behaviors.

Hooked: New Science on How Casual Sex is Affecting Our Children

2012-01-09T13:16:00.000-08:00

Hooked: New Science on How Casual Sex is Affecting Our Children

Society tells us that sex is an act of self-expression, a personal choice for physical pleasure that can be summed up in the ubiquitous phrase: “hooking up.” Millions of American teenagers and young adults are finding that the psychological baggage of such behavior is having a real and lasting impact on their lives. They are discovering that “hooking up” is the easy part, but “unhooking” from the bonds of a sexual relationship can have serious consequences.

A practical look into new scientific research showing how sexual activity causes the release of brain chemicals which then result in emotional bonding and a powerful desire to repeat the activity. This book will help parents and singles understand that “safe sex” isn't safe at all; that even if they are protected against STD's and pregnancy, they are still hurting themselves and their partner.

Shepherding Women in Pain

2012-01-07T12:30:00.000-08:00

The next few posts are going to be about great books I've been recommended... I haven't read them yet but other YoungLives friends have said they're excellent!

Shepherding Women in Pain

Infertility, divorce, domestic violence, eating disorders...all have become part of a day's work for women and men in ministry to women. Yet, most are not prepared for this aspect of ministering to women in real pain over real issues.

Designed to give leaders and care givers greater understanding, insights for shepherding, and referral resources, Shepherding Women in Pain is a compilation from contributors who have expertise and experience with women on the given issue. For examples Stacey Womack, founder and Executive Director of Abuse Recovery Ministry & Services wrote the chapter on domestic violence and Kimberley Davidson, founder of Olive Branch Outreach, authored the chapter discussing eating disorders.

The reader will be provided concise, practical, and grace-infused information designed to help women deal constructively with the trauma of their life experiences. This book will serve as a key resource – read and re-read often – to those who serve women in pain.

Pinterest for YL ideas!

2012-01-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinbards to plan their decorate their homes, organize their favorite recipes and plan their weddings... and now we're using it for YL! In addition to having your own pinboards your can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new thins and get inspirtation from people who share your interests... like YoungLives and Young Life!

I've recently started collecting ideas for YoungLives on a pinboard. Follow my board here:

http://pinterest.com/lisabrown/younglives-ideas/

Young Life is also on Pinterest and has tons of great ideas for banquet themes. You can follow YL's pins here: http://pinterest.com/younglifesc/

To get started with Pinterest, request an invite.

Happy Pinning!
*WARNING pinning can become addicting!*

Giving Letter

2012-01-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the letter I sent to current and potential donors at the beginning of December for year-end gifts. December is the strongest giving month to areas! Remember that whenever you send letters out, following up with a phone call is key!

How I did it:
I used a girl's story, picture and then had a note along with the pledge card at the bottom that they could tear off. I personalized each letter with the person's name. Feel free to use this letter to create your own for support, camp scholarships, year-end giving, etc... A letter like this can be made in Word -- you don't need expensive graphic design software. If this isn't your skill set find someone to help you (a mentor, committee person, computer savvy friend!). A full-size version of the file can be viewed here.

Getting Involved

2012-01-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

In our area we're always having people ask how can they get involved. A good problem to have! We give them the YoungLives adult brochure and have created this document below to give them some more area specific information. They want details on how to plan to provide a meal, or how long will they need to be there for childcare. We also sent it out to our overall Young Life committee so they know our needs and can help connect us to people. View a larger version here.

Christmas Thank-You

2011-12-20T09:09:00.000-08:00

Check out this incredible Christmas video created by a teen mom in YoungLives North Hills, Pennsylvania! Perfect for sharing with volunteers and donors.

Mentor Training Podcast

2011-11-13T18:23:00.000-08:00

This podcast will walk you through mentor recruitment and planning your initial mentor trainings. It references both the Coordinator's Guide to Mentor Training and the Mentor Training Handbook, so be sure to have these on hand as you listen to the podcast.

Rabbit Run

2011-11-08T07:33:00.000-08:00

YoungLives in Fredericksburg, VA has spent the past few years perfecting their "Rabbit Run" fundraiser - and now they are spilling the secrets to their success! Check it out:

Six months out: We have a race committee, which is just our YoungLives committee with a couple of people who jump in for specific race planning times. We recruited a team leader who plans races for her job and works for the YMCA. We try to start as early as possible in the planning process. In the past we have done it in the fall, but this will be our second year of moving it to the Spring and having an Easter theme, which has been a big winner. By moving the race and adding a theme we almost doubled our participants and we more than doubled our profit (last year we netted $10k). We start by planning, securing the course, getting someone to do timing chips, and getting permits. We also try to get a title sponsor first so that we can put their name in the race heading. Once that happens, we also have the money for other advertisements and race expenses. If we know someone in a business (like a car company, hair salon, grocery store...) or have a connection we start there for sponsorships - and we also open it up to families to be sponsors. We print and hand out sponsor forms with the YoungLife tax ID and allow our sponsors to pick what they want to do. From $5 to $5,000...it all helps! Our sponsorships more than cover the race costs so that we make a profit from them - and then all participant fees are profit as well.

Advertising: We use large poster paper with Publisher templates to make creative and colorful ads to hang around town, in gyms, YMCAs, wherever. If we have sponsors early on, we advertise for them on these fliers. (We try to keep everything local, from t-shirt guy to prizes and sponsors).

Registration: We put out registration forms for the race wherever we can: gyms, running stores, churches etc. Anyone is welcome to participate! We have a 5k Rabbit Run, a 1 Mile Hop, and a 1/4 mile Bunny Chase, which really is little kids chasing a big dressed up Bunny - it's the best! We market this mostly to families (we welcome walkers!) and to the running community also (we offer race timing chips for them).

Day Of: On the day of, everyone is on point and we pull in extras, including spouses and kids. Anyone helping wears bunny ears! We have a moon bounce for kiddos, and Chick-Fil-A, Panera and some other local restaurants donate food. We have course marshalls out with bright colors out to guide our runners, and our team leader is the MC for the day as well. We have people registering runners at packet pick-up, and we have people handing out the timing chips. We also have our Bunny just out and about spreading Easter cheer! After the races are over and prizes are given out, we have a 10 and under Easter egg hunt that a local church sponsors.

Prizes: For prizes...I LOVE OUR PRIZES! We offer the first place winners already cooked hams, second place adults get Easter baskets with fun goodies and coupons in them, second and third place children get a variety of sizes of handmade chocolate filled Easter eggs that are beautifully decorated. The overall winners get $50 gift cards to a local running store. We have tried to keep the prizes very Easter-esque. Also, we do have finisher medals for everyone! Anyone who crosses the finish line get a BEAUTIFUL medal to wear around their neck, full color and double sided with the race info and an Easter egg on one side...my favorite part.

Want to know more? E-mail Megan McCormack

Letter to Churches

2011-11-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

Download this sample letter to churches to use as a first step in introducing YoungLives in your community or as part of your volunteer recruiting strategy.

YoungLives Music

2011-11-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

You know girls love to sing! Here's an example of a YoungLives Club in Wichita, KS doing music Young Life style!

YoungLives Program

2011-11-07T13:02:00.001-08:00

Check out this YoungLives Club intro from Wichita, KS!

Discipleship Opportunity

2011-11-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for a way to go deeper with some of your teen moms who have already been to camp and are ready to be discipled? Taking a few girls to a weekend camp to do work crew is a fantastic way for them to learn how to give back and for you to be able to pour into them for a few days straight - with no kids, friends, or family around to distract them!

Here are a few highlights from Katie Pirch on a work crew weekend that she recently took teen moms to at Rockbridge:

Lots and lots of laughter and bonding with the girls
Hearing one of them say after serving the first meal, "I just love the tables I'm serving, they are so incredibly nice, I don't think I was expecting that." And later after the work crew had sat down to eat, "Do you think my tables are okay? Maybe they need something else? I think I'll go back to check on them!"
There was also a group of Capernaum kids (Capernaum is Young Life for students with special needs) on the weekend. One of our girls has a brother with special needs and she was in awe of Capernaum! She's excited to visit a Capernaum club in our area and see where she might be able to get involved.
Watching them work really hard!
Having cabin time on Saturday night and debriefing about their experience, getting to share about the joy of service.
Lots of great side conversations with the girls throughout the weekend.
Watching them experience the beauty of the camp.
Watching them sleep for the entire ride home - they were exhausted!

To volunteer for a work crew weekend, contact your Regional Director or your YoungLives Divisional Coordinator about opportunities near you!

Prayer Idea

2011-11-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

We all know that prayer is the foundation of what we do, and that our prayer strategy in ministry is crucial. Here's a great idea from a committee chair in Pennsylvania:

"Right now we are working closely with 13 teen mothers, and to be honest we are desperate for God's help. Each of these moms needs a miracle from God; each one needs His revelation, His grace, and His guidance.

God doesn't want us to rest on our past experience. He doesn't want us to expect Him to just continue working in exactly the same way we've seen Him work so far. As I've prayed and thought about this, I've felt more than ever the need for focused, individual prayer for each of the girls we are working with.

So here is my "call for help": I'm looking for volunteers who will commit to pray for one specific girl (and her child), either daily or weekly, for one year. I pray that at least 13 people will respond, so that we can have at least one prayer supporter for each of our girls.

If God speaks to your heart about this, please reply, and I will send you the name and some bio information about one of our teen moms."

Cool, huh?

Christmas Thank You

2011-10-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

This is a video that we put together last Christmas for donors. We burned the video to DVDs and mailed them in Christmas cards. Feel free to use it and do the same or take the idea and make it your own!

Quick how to:

Make signs with paper and markers with what you want to say
Hand them to girls and get short shots (about 5-10 seconds each) at your YoungLives events
Use a simple video camera or digital camera that does video
If you have a Mac with iMovie or a PC with Windows Movie Maker you can upload your videos and compile all of these shots into a short video.
Save the file and burn to a blank DVD.

If you like the idea of this, but it seems overwhelming... cry out to a friend who is "techy" and gets this stuff and ask them to help you!

Who do you call?

2011-10-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Many (if not ALL!) of our teen moms find themselves at one point or another in need of help with food, housing, employment, health care, counseling, etc.

2-1-1 provides free and confidential information and referral in many communities in the U.S. When you dial 2-1-1 on your phone you will be directed to a hotline operator who will help you (or your teenage friend) to these resources.

You can visit the national page here at: http://www.211.org/ to see if there is a 2-1-1 hotline available in your area.

This would be good to share at one of your ongoing mentor trainings. Let mentors know that when they receive a crisis call, they have somewhere to turn.

This is also a helpful resource for start-up YoungLives ministries looking to partner with other organizations in the community. Just call or search online for organizations that are working with crisis pregnancy or teenage parenting.

A fresh perspective on Fundraising

2011-10-21T11:48:00.000-07:00

We're always looking for new ideas and ways to fund our ministries and send our girls to camp. The book Revolution in Generosity promotes God-oriented stewardship, not just fundraising techniques. This book is Kingdom oriented and reminds us that fundraising is stewardship and an invitation to invest in what God is doing.

The book's website also offers some resources on fundraising.

Whenever you want to purchase books be sure to check the publisher discounts on the Young Life staff site.

Happy Reading!
and Happy Fundraising!

Turkey Bowling!

2011-10-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

Turkey bowling is a fun game that we usually do at club around Thanksgiving time. Another alternative is Pumpkin Bowling in October. For this you will need:

1 frozen turkey
1 set of bowling pins
space to bowl (either indoors or out)

You can either use real bowling bins (some bowling alleys may donate old ones to you) or use empty soda or juice bottles (pictured). Many Young Life areas already have a set of bowling pins, so check with your staff first. You can also do this with a roll of plastic or a tarp and grease it down with vegetable oil. Teens bowl the turkey using the handle, keeping the bird inside the package.

You can always send the turkey home as a prize or give to a girl in need.

I Will Wait...for You

2011-10-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a YouTube clip that you can use when speaking about relationships. Amy de Jonge says, "It has a great message, is biblically based and is presented in a unique way which really spoke to our girls!"

Shared by Amy de Jonge - Grand Rapids, MI

The Way You Are Rap Remix

2011-10-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

This is a rap that was inspired by teen moms, written and rapped by Ben Lemmen.

Check out the lyrics here!

Sexual Healing

2011-09-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

Hey! Here is a great video you can use for a Campaigners talk about sexual healing.

Free Meals for Kids

2011-09-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hanging out with your teen mom and want a place to eat? Want to feed the kids for FREE! Visit http://www.kidsmealdeals.com/ to find where kids can eat for free in your town!

A Story in your Back Pocket

2011-09-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

A short story of how YoungLives has changed a teen mom's life can be your best tool in sharing the vision of the ministry with potential (or current) donors and volunteers.

But if you are like me...sometimes I don't always think the best on my feet or on short notice. So it is worth it to take some time to write up and have prepared such a story to share...."a story in your back pocket." That way you will be ready when the moment arrives!

Here is an example of a great back pocket story that highlights the generational impact of YoungLives.

The Cat's Meow...

2011-09-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

Cat's blog is the cat's meow....

Cat Swanzy, NW Austin YoungLives coordinator, shares GREAT club ideas on her blog....check it out....

Here is a teaser pic to whet your appetite....

Teenage Pregnancy Epidemic

2011-09-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

We all hear the statistics on teenage pregnancy...but here you can see them .

This graphics file gives you the statistics on teenage pregnancy to share with donors and potential volunteers in a visually compelling way.

3-Week Camp Trip: We’re Home. Now What?

2011-07-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

This summer we returned home from camp thrilled and exhausted - and with new sisters in Christ. For years I’ve taken kids to camp and come home ready to love and care for them only to be overwhelmed by their messy lives and my hectic schedule. Follow-up never went the way I wanted it to. Although not fool-proof, this camp trip was different.

Before we left for camp I picked up some devotionals YL put out a few years ago, arranged meeting space in a local church and set up childcare for our daily quiet time meetings {the last 2 weeks of the 3-week camp trip}.

On the bus on the way home I gave the girls the devotionals, instructing them to do Day 1 right there on the bus, and a schedule of our Quiet Times Meetings. A few days later we gathered to continue our journey together.

We met every day for 10 days from 11:15-12:45 at a local church. During the first 15 minutes girls dropped their kids off with childcare workers. Then we gathered as a group for a few minutes to offer instruction and then broke up to have a 25 minute personal Quiet Time and do the devotional we had passed out on the bus. For the next half an hour we would review the devotional together or simply talk about life. The last 15 minutes were scheduled so girls would have a few minutes to pick up their kids.

The 3-week camp trip is intended to allow leaders to be with kids in a structured setting - like camp - once we arrive home. All of our girls came at least once and none of our girls came every day. But they would all agree that having the time set aside and ready-to-go has helped them create time to be with Jesus now that our camp trip is over.

You’re probably thinking one of two things: “This girl’s a GENIUS!” Or “WOW that lady REALLY doesn’t have a life!”. Believe me, neither of those things are true. In fact, Brian Summerall is the Regional Trainer for North Central Texas and HE is the genius. If you have any questions about the 3-week camp trip or you want to know more GENIUS ideas by Brian feel free to e-mail him at bsummerall@mac.com or check out his website at ministrystrategy41.com. You’re also welcome to e-mail me with specific YLives questions: YoungLivesBC@gmail.com.

-Submitted by Leslie Leicher, YLVS Coordinator in Beaver County, PA

Mentoring Defined

2011-05-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

When I am asked what a mentor does, I am actually at a bit of a loss. Mentors are friends, counselors, teachers, mothers - using many of the gifts we have developed in other areas of our lives. Then, at a recent training conference, I finally heard a definition that "hit the spot." See if you agree.

"Mentors believe in someone until they believe in themselves, value someone until they value themselves, expect great things of someone until they expect great things of themselves, walk with Jesus alongside someone until they walk with Jesus by themselves."
- Arnie Arnold, Baltimore, MD

-Submitted by Debbie Perkins, Philadelphia, PA

Camp Sponsor Letter

2011-05-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

Looking for a way for girls to raise their own money for camp? Many areas have used a Camp Sponsor Letter that teen moms can take around to their teachers, family members, neighbors, etc. Feel free to download this version and edit it for your own area. Even small donations can add up to make a big difference!

Start-Up Ministry Podcast

2011-05-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in starting (or are in the process of starting) a new YoungLives ministry, we've got a great new resource for you! Karil Greaves, YoungLives New York Metro regional coordinator, has put together a 20-minute podcast covering some of the basics of starting a new YoungLives ministry - plus a handout for you to follow along with. Check it out!

Scavenger Hunt

2011-04-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

This month we took teen moms and their babies on a photo scavenger hunt in the mall. Teams earned points for pictures like one team member in a prom dress, one team member dancing with a stranger, one team member riding a lawn mower, etc. The girls had a great time and we ended with pizza in the food court. Our mentors shared the joy of Christ simply by being fun, silly, and available. We had 5 teens and 3 mentors, so we had two teams. I only wish I had brought brochures because folks kept asking me who we were and what we were up to (in a good way)!

Check out our photo scavenger hunt guide.

-Shared by Cheryl Reed in Zanesville, Ohio

2009 Teen Birthrate Article

2011-04-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting article about teen birthrate. It discusses the rate at which girls are getting pregnant in a more cultural context.

Find Article Here

2011 YoungLives Map

2011-04-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

Here is the 2011 map of active and start up YoungLives ministries. The file is available below for you to use. Great for presentations and donor communications!

Download the map

Training YoungLives Mentors for Camp

2011-04-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

Curious how to train and prepare your mentors for YoungLives camp? Lisa Brown led a recent conference call on how to do just that! Listen to the conference call and follow along with the supplemental documents below.

Conference Call Recording

Supplemental Documents

Camp Trip Leader Prep

2011-04-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

Leading a YoungLives camp trip this summer? Looking for some expert advice? Emilie Schreiber walks you through everything from transportation to scholarships and childcare in this podcast!

Beyond YoungLives

2011-04-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

We have all experienced the question of what to do with girls who are getting too old for YoungLives. They may not be "teen" moms anymore, but they feel very connected and comfortable with us, and we don't really know how to help them to move on from YoungLives and to gain more independence.

There is no one perfect way to help transition older moms - but after interviewing a number of different areas, we have come up with an overview of effective transition models that YoungLives areas have used. These transition methods help older girls to learn independence, and also create healthy closure for both mentors and teen moms. You can also listen to an explanation of these methods in a podcast that we created to go along with the document (about 15 minutes long).

Some ministries have set up models based on the idea of having girls set goals, attend life skills classes, and take on more responsibility - and then be rewarded with incentives like graduation "with honors" from YoungLives. See examples of this below:

-Submitted by Lisa Brown and Rebecca Asper

Finances Seminar - Support Week

2011-03-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

In many ways, finances can make or break our ministries. Deficit or the threat of deficit can become all-consuming, taking our time and energy away from the rest of ministry and even causing people to have to leave staff. On the other hand, a healthy financial situation frees us to focus on recruiting and training our mentors, loving on girls, and thanking donors without having to beg for help. If you missed Greg Lehman's finances seminar at Support Week - or if you just need a refresher - below are links to the PowerPoint and handouts from his presentation:

YLVS TDS PowerPoint Presentation

Ask Slide

Effective Asking Strategy

TDS for women

Summer Camp Sell Videos

2011-03-21T07:32:00.001-07:00

This year, we are using the E Trade baby commericals to sell camp. If you have a basic movie editing program on your computer you can download these videos and record voices over them (include your camp details, etc). We will be showing these videos at club and campaigners during announcements to promote signing up for YoungLives camp!

Here are a few examples of what other YL areas have done to get your creative juices flowing!

Shared by Lisa Brown, Tallahassee, FL

Camp Sponsorship Letter

2011-03-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

We are always looking for ways for our teen moms to earn money for their camp trip. Here is a sample fundraising letter you can use that they can take to teachers, school administrators, doctors, neighbors, churches, etc.

One teen raised all of their funds in $5 donations. It can happen!!

Happy FUNdraising!

Letter shared by Rose Shabaya, Jacksonville, FL

USA Today: Unwed Births hit 41%

2011-03-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to the USA Today article that recently came out showing the dramatic increase in unwed births since the 60s. This is a great resource for talking to potenital supporters, donors, grants and foundations.

State of the Mission

2011-03-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

This powerpoint was shared by Lindsey the first night at Support Week. It has some great statistics on YoungLives. Feel free to download the State of the Mission powerpoint and use it to help you prepare for your next fundraising or people-raising event!

We Aren't Traveling Alone - Campaigners Lesson

2011-02-16T12:49:00.000-08:00

"There is a famous poem titled 'Footprints in the Sand'...
Have you ever felt neglected? Have you ever noticed a super-natural protection? Thinking of your child, in what ways have you protected her without her knowledge?"

There's much more where that came from! Check out this new Campaigners Lesson titled "We Aren't Traveling Alone", written specifically for YLVS teen moms!

Parenting Resources

2011-02-16T12:14:00.000-08:00

We always say in YoungLives that we are impacting two generations at once. Want to have an even greater impact on that next generation of kids? Check out these websites that have parenting curriculums (both videos and books) that you can integrate into your lunch club, club, campaigners, or parenting class:

Morning Glory Press (they also have resources specifically designed for teen parents)

Parents Action

Active Parenting

Have you tried a parenting curriculum that worked well? Share a comment below!
--

Friendraising...Fundraising is about relationships

2011-01-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

As you know we cannot do what we do without money. Fundraising can be seen as a daunting part of the job unless we shift our perspective. Larry Acosta is the President and Founder of the Urban Youth Workers Institute and is known for being a great fundraiser. Earlier this year all of the urban ministries in our region were encouraged to listen to this online interview with him and the Fuller Youth Institute. In this interview he talks about his best practices for fundraising and how it's basically about relationships [true to what we believe in YL!].

Listen to it here. Click on the "Larry Acosta Interview" link under "Related Content" and it should play right in that window. The interview is about 25 minutes long -- definitely worth a listen!

Post any feedback or comments here on the blog. Would love to hear your thoughts!

Wii Dance Party Club

2011-01-24T12:51:00.000-08:00

We recently had a Wii Dance Party club. We set up a Wii with a projector and sound in a large room in the church we have club at and used the Just Dance 2 game. We had 4 remotes and lined up the girls in rows of 4 so each time a dance finished they could hand off their remote to the girl behind them. The girls [and mentors] loved dancing with the game.

We sold the dance party by having a silly dance instructor character who got the girls excited about it. We also did raffles in between songs. This would work for a small club or a big club. We all just danced behind the girls with the remotes. Fun for all!

Shared by Tallahassee YoungLives

Teen Pregnancy on the Today Show

2011-01-24T07:12:00.000-08:00

The Today's Show ran a segment on Memphis' teen pregnancy crisis specifically at Frayser High School. I've posted a link below for your viewing. Whereas there were a few things I think the Today's Show incorrectly reported about our city and this issue, they did get it right with this being a responsibility of the community and a need for education. You do not know who may hold this issue close to their heart and is willing to serve, give and/or pray. I bless you all with a bold and courageous passion for His Kingdom.

Here's a link to the video clip: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/41152047#41152047

Shared by Janna Torres, Memphis YoungLives

Once upon a time...

2011-01-23T18:02:00.000-08:00

Also at our Pajama Club, we had story time. One of our mentors really believes in the importance of the girls reading to their children. She purchased board books for all of the kids and we had "story time" before sending the girls babies to childcare for the night!

"Go now and leave your life of sin" -Jesus

2011-01-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

For a more memorable Campaigners lesson...

Share about the woman at the well. Talk about how she left her bucket at the well and left her life of sin. She was now filled with living water!

Purchase buckets for all of the kids at campaigners. Have them write with permanent marker their "sins" onto small rocks. Have them place their "sins" in the bucket and leave them at Campaigners at the end of the night.

What an easy way for them to visualize leaving their sin with Jesus!

Truth or Dare

2011-01-23T16:54:00.000-08:00

At our pajama club last week we played a "clean" version of the classic, truth or dare! Before club began our mentors wrote up fun truth and dares and placed them in a hat. We had the girls sit in a big circle and one by one had them pull a "truth or dare" from the hat.

Some of the truths?

"Tell us where your dream vacation would be."

"Share your most embarassing story."

"Share with the group your dream job."

Some of the dares?

"Sing your favorite song while gargling water!"

"Lip sync to the song "Firework"!"

"Teach me how to Dougie!"

"Put lipstick on one of your friends, while blindfolded!"

Swanzy Club Ideas

2011-01-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

My wife leads Younglives NW Austin and I help out the area with ideas and design work. I am also a youth leader at a church in the community. I run this site Youth Leader Stash and it has a lot of group games, volunteer up front games, mixers, and talk ideas. Just thought I would share it.

http://www.youthleaderstash.com
--
Chad Swanzy

http://about.me/chadswanzy/bio

http://www.youthleaderstash.com

Young Lives Club: Breaking Down Walls

2011-01-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a litle about our Young Lives club here in the Verde Valley. I thought it might be an encouragement to someone.

I have been in Young Life a long time. I know the right things to say and the "yl" terminology for everything. But there is a huge difference between saying it and watching it happen right before your eyes. When we train new leaders, we tell them that the music and games at a Young Life club is used to break down walls. Tonight I saw those walls crumble right before my eyes. I truly was saying in my head, "I can't believe this actually works." At the beginning of the night, teen moms were silently sitting in a living room, but after a few very silly games and awkward songs, they were laughing hysterically. I truly am amazed; humor does break down walls and give the opportunity for God to speak to hearts.

Submitted by:
Jordan Guerra
Verde Valley, AZ Young Life

Pajama Club

2011-01-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

For the past 3 years, we've hosted a "Pajama Club." We've had a local teacher commit to collecting new kid's pjs every year as her class' Christmas project. Each January, we give these to the girls and their babies. The temperature dips pretty low in Michigan, so it's great to see all of these kids with new, warm, & clean pjs.

A few years ago, we decided to make a whole club out of this. We have husbands/committee members/area directors come and make us "breakfast for dinner." The girls, babies, and mentors all show up in their pajamas (or a decent "PG" version of them.) We offer door prizes for warmest pjs, most colorful, etc. (All categories are announced a previous club and listed on posters hanging up at the schools.) We have eggs, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, etc. The club talk centers around finding peace and rest in Christ. At the end of club, we hand out the pajamas to the moms! It's a fun way to provide the girls something many of them need.

( Submitted by Amy de Jonge, Grand Rapids YoungLives)

The Spirituality of Fundraising - Henri Nouwen

2011-01-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

These seven principles of fundraising pulled from the transcript of a talk given by Henri Nouwen have been invaluable to me in my view of fundraising and my relationships with donors. I hope you find them just as helpful as I have!

The Spirituality of Fundraising - Henri Nouwen
Many of us regard fundraising as a “necessary but unpleasant activity to support spiritual things.”

Fundraising is first and foremost a form of ministry, but it is a subject we seldom think about from a spiritual perspective.

Fundraising is a spiritual as giving a sermon, entering into a time of prayer, visiting the sick, or feeding the hungry!It is a life-giving and hope-filled expression of ministry.
Are we willing to be converted from our fear of asking or anxiety of being rejected or feeling humiliated if someone says “no” in order to engage in this spiritual activity?
Fundraising is a very concrete way to help the Kingdom of God come about.

Fundraising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate with us in our vision and mission.

It is a call to conversation
It requires a shift of attention in which we set our mind on divine things
It is asking for what you believe in without apology

Fundraising is collaboration between asker and giver that is good for both of their spiritual lives.

Asker and giver are drawn together by God who is about to do a new thing through our collaboration
The giver is enriched; it is good for their spiritual health

Fundraising is about our relationship with money.

Asking for money may feel taboo, but that feeling comes from an intimate place in our heart where we need security
Our need to secure our own future and to control our lives does not come from the Bible
What is our security base, God or Mammon? Our security needs to be totally from God

Fundraising may require that we overcome a prejudice against the rich.

We equate helping the poor with serving Jesus. Our concern for the poor may carry with it a prejudice against the rich
The rich have a spiritual poverty, just like us
If we ask for money from the rich we have to love them deeply
No matter how polished our approach, if asking comes for anger or jealousy we are not giving the person the means to become a brother or sister

Fundraising has to be community-building. It needs to hold the real possibility of friendship and community.

If we ask for money, it means we offer a new fellowship, a new way of belonging
Fundraising must always aim to create new, lasting relationships
We invite people into a vision of fruitfulness and into a vision that is fruitful

Fundraising is grounded in prayer and undertaken in gratitude.

Prayer is the radical starting point of fundraising
Prayer releases a spirit of gratitude
God is pleased with us; we can approach all people in freedom and love

-Shared by Rebecca Asper

Campaigner Lesson: Identity Crisis

2011-01-07T08:58:00.000-08:00

Looking for a new Campaigners lesson? Check out this one by Melissa Fisher about who we are in Christ.

"I've always struggled with my identity. For the longest time, I felt that the "hats" I wore — the things that I did — defined me. I thought that being a student, a coach, a volunteer ... each of these things defined who I really was. But my hats weren't limited to my extra-curricular activities. I also felt that my actions — sometimes the good, sometimes the bad — defined me. If I went to church, I was a church girl. If I gossiped, I was a gossip girl. If I wore a Young Life shirt, I was a Young Lifer..."

See the whole lesson, including discussion questions and Scriptures on the staff website: Identity Crisis.

Taking. Donors. Seriously.

2011-01-05T14:55:00.000-08:00

What would happen if we devoted more time to building relationships with donors, making asks in person rather than through the mail or e-mail, and making a strategic financial plan for an entire year at a time? These are just some of the ideas that come up in Taking Donors Seriously (TDS) - Young Life's ultimate plan for fund-raising. Many of us have heard the term TDS, but we may not realize how powerful it can be when it is actually put into place in an area. It's all about doing fund-raising the way we do ministry - making our focus on people, not on events.

For instance, TDS proposes that the best use of our time and the best way to build our financial health is not to plan more fund-raising events, but to build our base of monthly donors. Think about it - a hoagie sale, car wash, or luncheon would be doing great if it brought in $1k-$2k. But if you could find just 20 people (committee, family members, friends, etc) to commit to giving $20 a month, you've just raised nearly $5,000 per year. Nice! Plus, instead of pouring your committee's time into a day-long event that they will have to plan again next year - or next month - you've gained both a consistent "income" and also gained a group of people who are invested in and praying for your ministry. It's a win-win!

Another TDS idea is to come up with a yearly financial calendar. How many of us have great intentions for sending out a newsletter or donor thank-you cards, or for sitting down for coffee with that donor who has been consistently giving for years... but we just never seem to get around to it? Check out this sample financial calendar for ideas on how to plan all of your donor interactions and fund-raisers in advance.

One other helpful resource... the Service Center offers convenient - and customizable - contribution envelopes for donors to send in their donations (see picture above). The envelopes even have a place for them to fill out their credit card or bank information for automatic recurring monthly donations. Customize the front with your area address so that you can keep track of donations and pledges, and then send it in to the Service Center for processing!

These are just a couple of tips on implementing TDS. For a much more thorough and very easy-to-follow power-point presentation about Taking Donors Seriously (for yourself and/or your committee), check out the TDS e-Learning course. (Just type TDS in the search box in the top left of the Staff Resources site, click on the TDS link, and then click on TDS e-Learning Course). I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone who is looking for ways to become financially stable and healthy.

Let's stop worrying about not having the funds we need and start to do something about it - seriously!

-Posted by Rebecca Asper

Photos with Santa!

2010-12-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

[Even the leaders jumped in for a pic with Mr. Claus himself!]

This month at our Christmas Club we invited Santa Claus. As the girls arrived they took pictures with their children and Santa. Our area had a Santa costume (your may too, if not see if a local costume shop will donate one!).

We asked a local photographer to volunteer and take photos for the first 30 minutes of club. You can get Santa hats and reindeer ears from the dollar store to add to the fun.

We're having the photos printed and will hand them out at our next meeting before Christmas.

Shared by Tallahassee YoungLives

Gifts for Mentors + Volunteers

2010-12-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

Looking for ideas for your mentors, committee, girls or childcare volunteers for Christmas?

Photo gifts are quick and easy and a wonderful keepsake!

Now through Monday Kodak is offering 40% off of all photo gifts and free shipping. Just use the link HERE to activate the discount.

Shared by Lisa Brown

New iPod song for Club

2010-12-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

Dynamite is a song by Taio Cruz that we've started using in club and the girls LOVE it. We use an iPod to sing along with the song.

You can Download the PowerPoint HERE.

A lot of songs are also available with lyrics on YouTube. See a previous post for more info on how to do that HERE.

Shared by Tallahassee YLVS

Chosen: A Campaigner Lesson

2010-11-22T22:31:00.000-08:00

Here is another GREAT Campaigner lesson that you can use! Written by Melissa Fisher, you can visit her blog and view many resources for Campaigners at http://teenmombiblestudies.wordpress.com/. Email Emilie emilieschreiber@gmail.com if you want a printable version in a word document!

Chosen

Memory Verse

Song of Songs 2:13b “Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”

Introduction

The night arrived. Everyone in the eighth grade had been talking about the dance all week, and now it was time to get ready. I took extra time washing my hair and getting dressed, and then carefully picked the outfit that I thought would attract my Crush. He seemed a bit out of my league but I wasn’t too worried. I had heard rumors that he was interested and it was time to find out.

I nervously walked into the gym and quickly spotted my friends. We chatted about nothing important, most of us trying to nonchalantly peek around the room to see who had shown up. The murmur in the room was competing with the fast-paced music on the dance floor, but there weren’t many people dancing yet. And finally, to our delight, the DJ announced a “snowball” dance.

He hand-selected a couple to begin dancing. After about a minute, the couple was instructed to split and go find new partners. The process would repeat itself every minute or so, creating a snowball effect until everyone was dancing and no one was left standing. In theory, of course. Everyone else stood in a circle around the dance floor, each one secretly hoping to be picked, and my crush was picked almost right away. Trying not to be too obvious, I curiously eyed him the entire minute that he danced with the girl that had picked him, which seemed to last forever. I was dying for him to choose me next.

Then, at the next round, he came right up to me. I concealed my inner glee, took his hand, and marveled in the fact that I had been chosen.

It’s such a good feeling to be chosen. Whether it’s as simple as someone picking you as their science partner, the teacher calling on you when you know the answer (for once!), or that guy you’ve been eyeing coming over to say “hello.” Those are times we feel special, set apart, and uniquely important. It just feels good.

Discussion

When have you been chosen? What did it feel like? How do you feel like you’ve been rejected? Has your “teen mom” status caused you to be rejected by anyone?

Reading and Questions

Read Matthew 9:9-13

Tax collectors were not regarded as moral people in those days. They were known to force the people into paying more than they owed, and then keeping the extra money for themselves. When Jesus is asked why he associates with these tax collectors and sinners, he answers,

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the ____________. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but ___________________” (verses 12b-13).

When Jesus says, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice, (v 13) he is quoting a verse from Hosea 6:6, in the Old Testament. Looking at the whole verse in Hosea, it says, “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”

Another verse talks about this same issue: 1 Samuel 15:22 says, “But Samuel replied: ‘Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in ________________________ the voice of the LORD? To ____________ is better than sacrifice, and to ____________ is better than the fat of rams.’”

Both of these verses come from the Old Testament, a time when sacrifices were required by the law God gave them. It speaks volumes that God wants something more than sacrifices…he wants us to follow him!

Jesus didn’t come to watch people sacrifice cows and give money. He didn’t come to monitor what people were giving up for God. Are the sacrifices important? Sure! In the right contexts and with the right heart. But so many of the religious rulers in that time were only focused on who gave the best sacrifices and how much money they gave to the church. They didn’t care about listening to God, they just wanted to look good! And, in the meantime, they rejected the tax collectors and other “sinners” because the sinners weren’t holy enough to be with the religious leaders.

In the same way, some of us feel rejected by those around us because they think they are better than we are. They purposely excluded us from social events, dismissed our own efforts to do good, and written us off as “sinners” because, in their own eyes, they can’t seem to do any wrong (ha!).

How have you been beaten down by those around you?

Jesus wants us to know he came for something so much more.

Jesus came to have mercy on us. You, me, we’re all sinners. We can’t do things right. In some ways, we never get it right. We’re constantly making mistakes and being selfish and doing things we know we shouldn’t do. But instead of judging us, Jesus came to have mercy on us. He has compassion. He loves you. Long ago, he chose you to be here today, reading this message from him, and he wants you to know His love for you. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past or what you’re still doing today, nothing can take away God’s love for you. WE are the only roadblock between ourselves and experiencing God’s grace. God chose you.

He not only chose you, but he specifically pick out every innate character about you. You skin tone, your hair, your personality and even your voice. He put you together with such care and thoughtfulness, as an artist at the easel. In the bible, He says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…” (Jeremiah 1:5a)

And even when you’ve completely ignored him and anything he’s asked of you, he continues to choose you. The bible also says, “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

He chose you. And today he wants you to choose him.

So, as we sit here, feeling like the world seems to be doing everything it can to ignore us, remember that this very moment in time was picked for you. Personally. Because you are chosen.

What does it feel like to know that God has chosen you to be here?

Life Application

Although the book was written between earthly lovers, parts of the Song of Songs can represent how Jesus feels about his church. We Christians are the church!

Read our memory verse at the top as a message from Jesus to you. How does it feel to know that you are chosen? Take some time right now to talk to God about being chosen by him. Then, take his command in Matthew 9:9, “Follow me.”

Further Study

Psalm 64:1-6 How do you relate to this writer? Does it make you think of anything?

Psalm 23

Psalm 40

YoungLives Communication Guide

2010-11-22T17:11:00.000-08:00

This is meant to help anyone who talks or writes about YoungLives (leaders, mentors, staff, national team, etc.) communicate more effectively about the ministry and its important place in Young Life. From this guide, you can access logos for all printing solutions, brochures, media, and more! Check it out...

- You can access the online version here:
http://staff.younglife.org/YL+Staff+Resources/Service+Center+Departments/Communications+Services/Communications+Resource+Library/Staff+and+Volunteers/SpecialMinistryCommunicationsGuides.htm

Podcast Interview with YL Area Director

2010-11-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

Ever wondered what Area Directors are thinking as they help to get YoungLives up and running in their areas? Or how YLVS coordinators and YL Area Directors can work together in an area so that both feel supported? Get a sneak peek into one Area Director's insights on starting a volunteer YoungLives ministry in his area in this 25-minute podcast interview with Bjorn Anderson, from Seacoast, NH.

Year-End Appeals

2010-11-18T12:12:00.000-08:00

Did you know that around 30% of giving to Young Life comes in December? Check out this helpful guide from Field Development for tips on year-end appeals, and don't miss this great season of giving!

In October/early November secure a Matching Gift that can be used at Year End.

Look to current top 20% donors.
Look for a donor that might give a larger gift if they knew they were seeding a match.
Look to Committee/TDS Team to consider going in together to set up the match. One idea is to have each person write the amount they would give or raise towards a match on a piece of paper and secretly give it to you. Add up the total and make that the match.

Develop PPL/List of who will be approached at year end and how they will be approached.

Who has the capacity to give a large year end gift? These people should be met with Face-to-Face for a year end update and ask. A letter informing them of the year end opportunity may come before the meeting but the letter should not make the ask but let them know that you would like to meet and will be calling them.
For the rest of the PPL/list decide on a strategy:

Letter to everyone with no follow up (Good but not Great).
Letter to everyone and followed up with a phone call (Much Better).
Blended strategy – those with moderate potential get a letter and a phone call and those with limited capacity/lower likeliness to give just receive the letter for efficiency.

In October/November write/revise letters and prep all necessary materials.
Letters should be received the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Don’t wait until mid or late December – you will miss it and it is hard to ask a donor to give attention to your appeal at Christmas! They may have already given somewhere else.
This is a good time to include a gift (i.e. Young Life Calendar) as a Thank You.

Do a special thank you and update to donors at Year End. Share the story. Give them inspiration to make a year end gift! Make Young Life stand out.

Involve the Committee in writing year end Thank You’s to donors and visiting donors at year end.

Make sure at year end that all potential donors that have not given in the current calendar year get contacted and have a chance to give a gift. For those who have just forgotten or gotten missed this can make a big difference.
A year end appeal should be a part of a larger yearlong fundraising plan (TDS Financial Master Plan). If you are just organizing your plan, go after the year end appeal hard and then sit down in January and lay out the year long plan.

Ooh... Scary!

2010-11-15T19:21:00.000-08:00

For our October club we played a mixer where we all created scary stories together. 5x7 cards were passed out, each with a scary first line of a story already written on it. Each girl was given a pen and asked to add one sentence to the card and pass it on to the next girl. The girls added lines to each story that they recieved until their card had gone all the way around the circle and returned to them. To finish we each read our finished story out loud. It was so much fun as girls incorporated mentors and their children into the stories! Here's a sample of our finished product...

"From the open grave rose a... smelly diaper... filled with baby poop and... the graveyard worker threw up in his mouth... the diaper smelled so bad that... Diamonds eyes popped out the back of her head, then ran down the street... They've never been able to find the culprit or her eyes since!"

Hahaha... then we all died of laughter!

Shared by Renee McKim- Chicago,IL

Mentor Evaluation Tool

2010-11-15T19:10:00.000-08:00

Ever wanted to be better about helping mentors debrief after a year of mentoring? Or about evaluating their gifts and where they could best fit in the ministry when they need a break from mentoring? This guide will help walk you through "exit interviews" and one-year anniversary discussions with your mentors - with the goal of helping them to continue to find satisfaction and purpose in ministry.

Click Here to check it out!

Shared by Rebecca Asper- Eastern Divisional Coordinator

Some Surprising Statistics

2010-11-15T19:03:00.000-08:00

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics(NCHS) has released preliminary 2008 state data on teen births. In addition, NCHS has also released new analysis of state disparities in teen birth rates based on 2007 teen birth data.

Some of the primary findings include:

State teen birth rates continue to vary widely according to the preliminary 2008 data─from 20 per 1,000 15-19 year-olds in New Hampshire to 66 per 1,000 in Mississippi.
As a general matter, teen birth rates in 2008 were lowest in the Northeast and upper Midwest and highest in Southern states.
It has been widely understood that some of this variation is attributable to state-level differences in the racial/ethnic makeup of the population.
However, NCHS analysis of 2007 birth data (the most recent data with state-level detail by race/ethnicity) shows that even within racial/ethnic subgroups, there are great differences across states. For example, some states with lower overall rates of teen births rank among those states with the highest rates for some racial/ethnic groups.
As a general matter, birth rates for non-Hispanic white teens are highest in the Southeast, birth rates for non-Hispanic black teens are highest in the Southeast and upper Midwest, and birth rates for Hispanic teens are highest in the Southeast.

Pumpkin Pie in a Cup!

2010-11-15T18:46:00.000-08:00

Need an easy craft/dessert to make with your girls for Thanksgiving?! This one's a great one, and only 6 steps!

Step 1: Crush graham crackers into little pieces.

Step 2: Mix vanilla flavored pudding with 1 can of pumpkin pie filling.

Step 3: Place a small portion of graham crackers at the bottom of cup.

Step 4: Add pumpkin pie mixture.

Step 5: Top with whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg.

Step 6: Enjoy with a spoon!

Makes enough for 8 adults!

Shared by Erin Kennedy- Chicago, IL.

Staying in touch...

2010-10-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

Have a girl who's stopped showing up to club? You (or her mentor) try to call her cell phone but she's out of minutes? And her home phone number is disconnected? Here is a postcard we made for our area, on the back we write a note and let them know when and where the next YoungLives event is so they can get plugged back in easily. Postcards are great because you can write a personal note and postcard stamps are half the price of regular stamps.

Vista Print offers 100 postcards for FREE if you use this link. It will cost $4.99 to upload the picture (or you can choose from one of their FREE designs if you want to make your own).

Download the image here:
JPG
PDF (best for Vista Print)

Shared by Lisa Brown

You've got a Minute to Win It!

2010-10-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

The Minute to Win It tv show has some great games to use for club! The games usually include items that you'd have around the house and they also provide short videos for each game online here. Many YL clubs have started to use these games and have learned that they go quickly so you may need to adapt it for your club.

We did some games at our first club this fall. We divided our club in 2 teams and then had 2 mentors who served as a captain for each team. We gave them a clipboard with a sign up sheet for the challenges. Each girl signed up for a game and we did 4 games and had one representative from each team do a challenge.

In between games we had printed our announcements and placed them in balloons. We tossed them around the room and girls popped them and read them. This allowed us time to set up for the next game.

Have you already tried these games?

Have any favorites?

Or tips on how to adapt them for YLVS?

Shared by Tallahassee YLVS

Say Cheese!

2010-10-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

We did a photo booth during our Mother's Day club last spring and it was a huge hit. I think this would be a great pre-club activity, especially as mamas and babies are trickling in. You can also build upon this with special props and do a theme that goes with your club.

Here's what you'll need:

Camera
Leader
Sheet/Backdrop
Fun hats/wigs/props (your local Young Life area usually has a stash of goofy hats and clothing that you could borrow)

We all know that these girls will want to see their pictures! Here are some low-budget ways to share pictures: upload them to your YL website (emsite), burn them on cds, or share on a photo sharing website. Some good websites for this are:

Just make sure that you have photo releases before you do this. You can get them from the Staff Resources site here

Shared by Tallahassee YLVS

Grant Writing Tips

2010-09-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

With a new fiscal year on its way in just a couple of days, fund-raising is on a lot of our minds! Applying for grants is a good avenue to explore for funding, but it can seem overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. The first step is to do a lot of research to find foundations and businesses that might make a grant to a mentoring program for teenage moms.

Find out what local foundations care about, who they have given to in the past, who is on the board, and what their funding requirements are. If YoungLives seems like a good fit with their funding history and their mission, then give them a call and see if you can get a face-to-face meeting with someone on the board – or at least talk with someone over the phone about the possibility of submitting a grant proposal. Once you’ve spoken with someone at the foundation, they will often ask you to submit a “letter of inquiry” before putting together a whole grant proposal. A letter of inquiry should be one to three pages long, and should include the following information (taken from the Common Grant Application Format put together by Grantmakers of Western PA):

ORGANIZATION
o Brief description of organization
o Address, telephone number, fax number, email address
o Name of contact person

PROJECT or PROGRAM
o Summary – one sentence statement of proposed project or program
o Overview – purpose, objectives, goals, how project relates to funder’s priorities
o Description – target population, specific action plan, timeframe and duration
o Implementation (and results) – qualifications for executing proposed project expected outcomes, how effectiveness will be monitored and evaluated, plan for continuance at conclusion of requested funding
o Cost – amount requested, total project cost, private and public funding sources (pending and received)

ATTACHMENTS (each funder may have specific preferences for information to be included)
o IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter
o Mission Statement
o Board of Directors list

*In addition, many funders request that their application sheet be attached to the letter of inquiry. Be sure to check with the respective funder for its preference.

Grant Writing-Sample Letter of Inquiry

2010-09-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

Grants are a great way to expand the financial support for the ministry in your area!

Many grants will request or require a letter of inquiry as part of the application process. Check out this Sample Letter of Inquiry to help you through this sometimes-daunting process!

Mending the Soul

2010-08-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

Have girls with abuse in their past? We all do! Have you ever wanted and needed a great way to work through some of that with them? Mending the Soul was uniquely written with the "un-churched" kids in mind. This book is very helpful in navigating some of the really hard stuff that we don't always know how to deal with!

More YoungLives Specific Campaigner Lessons

2010-07-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

Just in time for after camp!

More YoungLives specific campaigner lessons are now available! Click on the links below for each of the lessons.

Unprepared

Temptation

Struggling in the Flesh

Thanks again to Melissa Fisher for permission to use these lessons!

Poet's Cafe

2010-07-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

Growing up I used to go to poet's café's in NYC and there is a whole culture around it. We wanted to recreate that scene going even farther back to the Beatniks. Girls don't really know what that is but we just had fun with it and set the mood.

Jazz music, dim lighting and instead of clapping, everyone had to snap their fingers.

We asked girls to prepare a poem/essay in advance about being a mother. They had to keep it clean of course.

To introduce them two leaders dressed in all black and scarves (or a beret is preferable) entered the room to a jazz song (very smooth/strong bass/etc). One leader called herself SMOOTH, the other was JAZZ and together they were "SMOOTH JAZZZZZZ"... Each leader made up a silly poem and had to read it very seriously, poetically and with a beat or rhythm almost like a song.

"roses are red
violets are blue
sunflowers are yellow...yeah"

Then instead of clapping, the audience was to snap their fingers and the characters would talk about how smooth or deep the other's poem was....then when we were done we introduced the girls one by one to share their poems.

They were a little nervous, but seeing us be silly, helped them to be ok with sharing themselves. The girls laughed a lot through the skit. So many moms write poetry or write in journals to express their pain. They often don't share it with anyone but this gave them opportunity to do just that in a safe place.

Shared by Karil Greaves-Bronx, NY

Hawaiian Theme Club

2010-06-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

When the girls arrived for our Hawaiian-themed club, they were tired and beat down by another week of being a teen mom. They were happy to be there and see the other girls, but they were showing definite signs of a long hard week. We had Hawaiian pizza and fruit kabobs, which certainly helped, along with music from 'the islands'. When I broke out the grass skirts and flowered tops, a few smiles were seen. Soon, the grass skirts and tops were in place, flowers were in their hair, and moods definitely changed. During a silly relay race with a hula hoop, I stopped for a moment and took in what I saw. . . a roomful of teen moms, mentors and volunteers just having a great time together.
That was a moment which I hope I never forget - our teen moms letting go, having simple fun, giggling and laughing - so relaxed and so carefree!

Shared by Judy Pytlik--Pittsburgh North Hills, PA

Mother's Day Theme Club

2010-06-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

We just began club last December in the Bronx, and the team really wanted to do something special and different for Mother's Day. So the mentors transformed the club room into a restaurant with a long table decorated with flowers, candles (flameless) and cute menus prepared to highlight the special meal prepared by one of our mentors. The girls were really caught by surprise and we just spent the time laughing and catching up with them. We asked a few girls in advance to read poems they wrote about being a mother. That night a few of the leaders did a funny skit based on the old school poets café to just break the ice and get them warmed up to share.

This was our largest group yet. Girls invited friends and moms we haven’t seen in a while came by. It was almost surreal when we realized that we had not set out enough seats for the girls around the table and had to bring down more. They were so appreciative of everything. The moms went home with a gift bag of gifts donated by AVON as well as a devotional. It was a special evening.

Shared by Karil Greaves--Bronx, NY

Scrabble Necklace Gift Idea

2010-06-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

Tired of giving your mentors t-shirts and water bottles as appreciation gifts? Here is an idea for a hip retro-new gift: necklaces made with scrabble tiles. The back side of a scrabble tile is used to put the image on and then it is somehow magically covered with a protective resin coating and made into a necklace!

In case you didn't know, necklaces with charms made of scrabble tiles are hip and stylish (don't worry, I am also often last on the hip and stylish train...but thanks to the YoungLives blog...you too are now on the hip and stylish train!) For less than ten dollars you could have yours!

Discounts are available for quantities. To order visit livelovecelebrate .

Reminder: With any gear that includes the YL logo, please remember to follow the new branding guidelines.

Best Rest of Their Lives

2010-06-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

We put a lot of energy, effort and prayer into getting girls onto that bus or van headed to camp to have the best week of their lives. It is important that we NOT neglect the other side of the trip...the what happens when they step off that bus or van to head home after the best week of their lives. We want to make sure that we are leading them into the best rest of their lives!

Erin Kennedy, Midwestern Divisional Coordinator, recently shared some great ideas in a Camp Follow Up Podcast. Also Erin shares a training document called "Following Up After the Best Week of Their Lives." If you have thoughts or questions, please feel free to contact Erin.

Also available is a previous post shared by Jen Byard about the Second Best Week of Their Lives.

Whatever you do please make sure your camp planning includes the time after camp!

An Easy but Challenging Read

2010-05-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

I saw a book at our little public library on the "Recent Additions" shelf that caught my eye. I know we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover...but who are we kidding?! The cover is what catches my attention and beckons me to pick it up and read the back.

Anyway this cover caught my eye:

So I picked it up to read the back. It piqued my interest enough for me to check it out...and then promptly let it gather dust on my nightstand for six plus weeks. You know...between motherhood, a couple of jobs, and life, it is not always the easiest to fit in time for a book!!

Two renewals and 85 cents in fines later (a nickel a day...you do the math). On a side note...I have finally chosen to not feel guilty about fines on library books. I have decided to see it as my contribution to the library's ever-dwindling budget. If you are ever late returning library books, you should try out this attitude...it is liberating! Not that I purposefully keep books longer than we're supposed to, but on the occasions when we do forget to return them on time, this attitude is freeing. Anyway, two renewals and 85 cents later, I finally picked it up.

I must say I expected it to be a fairly dry read...what with it being non-fiction, and the fact that it has a sub-title. If you didn't know, books with subtitles tend to be more dry (yes...there I go again, judging a book by its cover). But once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down! It is an easy read, and every page had my mind reeling with new revelations about how the 'media' shapes the message within it.

Author Shane Hipps takes us back thousands of years and acts a tour guide through the history of 'media' and the interplay of media and faith. I don't want to give the whole book away, but 'media' is not just tv and internet. And while in some circles, especially faith circles, 'media' gets a bad, if not downright evil, wrap, Hipps helps us to see that 'media' is not necessarily bad. Our lack of awareness of how the media affects the message is what causes the trouble.

Throughout the book Hipps takes us through a journey that ultimately leads to the realization that the media is as important as the message. Hipps wraps up with a challenge for Jesus-followers that cannot be ignored. This read was so revealing that I promptly returned the book to the library (and paid my 85 cents...you're welcome library fund!) and went to amazon to buy a copy for myself that I can re-read, mark up and take notes in. Are you ready to see How Technology Shapes Your Faith?

Shared by Amy Bonzon (Enumclaw, WA)

Big Daddies

2010-05-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

Have Big Daddies lined up when you return from camp! Research has proven that the absence of male role models in the life of children has led to more boys going to prison and more young girls ending up pregnant. Last year we had male “mentors” who “adopted” each mentor/girl team. It was the job of these men to pray for their designated teen mom and mentor, meet with her and her mentor regularly, help make connections in the community (ie. job opportunities), and invite them into their family. The result was amazing! Girls responded in ways we never expected. They were more confident and they started to make better decisions for themselves and their child! We even had one of our girls share that she didn't want to participate in "bad" activities, for fear of letting her Big Daddy down!

A few notes... 1. These men NEVER meet with this girl and her child alone! 2. It's helpful to have a men's bible study do this as a team, so that they can keep each other accountable! 3. Ask mentors husbands if they'd be interested in this role, most likely they are already investing in this girls life somehow (prayer for his wife, financial support, etc.), this role will help them feel like they have an official "job" on your YoungLives team!

Updated US Statistics

2010-05-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

Need a few statistics for your area case or to share at an informational meeting? Here you go!

Latest (and probably the most reliable, published in January '10) statistics on US teen pregnancy
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/USTPtrends.pdf

"Teen births to women who were already mothers"(listed by state):
http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/acrossstates/Rankings.aspx?ind=5

"Births to females less than 20 years of age"(listed by state):
http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/acrossstates/Rankings.aspx?ind=4

Poll about sexuality, abstinence, and teen pregnancy:
http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/national-data/pdf/WOV2007_fulltext.pdf

"Costs of teen childbearing: consequences for the children" (education, incarceration, child welfare services, health):
http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/costs/pdf/report/5-BTN_Consequences_Children.pdf

"Costs of teen childbearing: consequences for the parents" (education, earnings, public assistance, fathers):
http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/costs/pdf/report/6-BTN_Consequences_for_Parents.pdf

Thanks to Rebecca Asper for researching these links!

New YoungLives Campaigner Lessons!

2010-05-19T17:01:00.001-07:00

(no, I didn't stage this picture...Harrison really loves YL)

We've had the privilege of having CAMPAIGNER LESSONS written just for YoungLives! Thanks to Melissa Fisher for this great gift to us. Here are the links:

Facing the Giants

Taking Short-Cuts

Making Decisions

Finding Peace in Christ

Please give feedback as we'd love to have her write more...

Family Tree Campaigners' Exercise

2010-05-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this lesson is to help your student take a look at the generational issues, or generational sin that has been affecting their families for years. Often, the issues in our lives can be inherited. As believers in Christ, we have the opportunity to break these patterns not only for our lives, but for our children's lives as well.

How do we do this? Well first you must gather as much information as possible on your family. With the help of your leader and parents, create your family tree.

(Click picture to view printable version)

Next, using different colored lines, draw "relationship arrows" between family members on a copy of the original family tree. Try to get a sense of the strengths and weaknesses in the family. Finally, try to identify generational issues or sins in family members and see if it has any correlation to relationships, divorce, death. In the example given, alcoholism seemed to plague many people in Brett's family tree. What does this tell Brett for his future? For his kids? What can he do to discourage these patterns from continuing?

(Click picture to view printable version)

This lesson should be done with close trusted leaders and family. Click for a Printable Lesson Plan.

Shared by Brett Hall-Tri City Young Life

(click on his name above to e-mail any questions to him)

I HAVE A DREAM...

2010-05-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

For our club talk one month, we shared about our hopes and dreams. We talked about what those might be, and how God has incredible hopes and dreams for us too! When the club talk was over we gave each girl a pen and paper and asked them to write about their own hopes and dreams. If they wanted to share with the group, they could, but they didn't have to. Then we gave them another piece of paper and asked them to share write down their hopes and dreams for their children. It was incredible to hear our young moms share of wanting a good life for their child, they shared of having successful, strong children, and then even spoke of protecting their children from any harm that might come their way. It was a wonderful insight into their minds and their hearts and it helped my mentors to have incredible follow up conversations with them that night in car rides home!

Shared by... Amy Schmeideskamp - Quincy, IL

The Second Best Week of Their Lives...

2010-05-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

One of the most successful and fun follow-ups that we have done with girls returning from camp was actually a whole week of events. As soon as we returned from camp we made sure that every girl knew that there was a week's worth of events following their return. Some days we just met for lunch, other days were spent at the beach, we even had a slumber party at the end of the week! The best part about doing something with the girls every day after camp, is that we get to be incredibly intentional in starting the discipleship process. They really get a feel for what the kingdom will look like, as we walk alongside them in their new journey as a Christian. It's also a great way to connect mentors that weren't able to go on the camp trip! It helps in building unity and momentum for the upcoming school year and the girls are more likely to "talk up" camp for the upcoming summer!

Shared by... Jen Byard

Where's Waldo the Wonder Bra?

2010-05-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

One of the funniest thing's that we do at club is to spot the Wonder Bra! It started out as a joke, when we were launching Easter Eggs from an old beat up bra, but then my mentor team had the great idea to have the bra make an "appearance" at every club. Sometimes it shows up as part of a game, a skit, or sometimes a mentor is actually wearing it and every now and then goes to adjust her strap. The girls love it! The are always on the look out for it and when they find it they scream "There it is!"

Shared by... Amy Schmeideskamp - Quincy, IL

Dream Boxes

2010-05-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

Our area purchased plain photo boxes from a craft store. We brought in creative memories stickers, papers, sayings, and old magazines. We then gave a club talk about our inheritance and then segued into asking what type of inheritance or goals did the moms have for themselves and their babies. We encouraged them to design a Dream Box with pictures, sayings, etc. They spent one night cutting out and organizing what they wanted to put on the box. Then they will glue and Hodge Podge them at the next Club. It was a great way for our girls to start dreaming big dreams for their kids!

Shared by... Jane Lemmen - Holland, MI

Baby Bits

2010-05-15T15:52:00.000-07:00

Once a month at Club, we have a skit, with a theme. Two of our mentors act it out...one is Baby Drooly and the other is a "teen" mom. We have had different themes which they act out the WRONG way to do things, then they go off and come back on and do it again the RIGHT way.

A few themes we have included: Talking to your baby (while in the store pointing things out and naming them, talking to them while getting them dressed, "mommy is going to put your socks on your feet.", "let's change your diaper", "let's get in the car", etc.) Another theme is the importance of reading appropriate books to your child and even sitting and again pointing out pictures and naming things in the picture before your child is old enough to talk. Another idea is keeping your baby on a schedule - late nights and sleeping in until noon is not a good idea...babies need scheduled naps and a regular bedtime and routine. Another theme could be the tone of voice you use with your child and getting eye level with them - if you explain that standing over and yelling at your baby is a form of intimidation. It is okay to use a firm voice, but yelling is never a good idea.

We would perform the skits and then give each of the girls a laminated card with that night's theme printed on it. They were each given a ring to put them on and attach to a diaper bag and/or keep in their purse.

It's a great idea for giving our young moms easy and tangible parenting tips, without sounding condescending!

Shared by... Jane Lemmen - Holland, MI

Latina Teen Mom Statistics

2010-05-15T15:46:00.000-07:00

How's this for some staggering statistics?!

52% of Latina's will get pregnant before the age of 20.

1 in 4 Latina Teen Moms will choose to drop out of school, once pregnant.

54% of Latina Teen Moms will not graduate from High School.

Only 2% of Latina Teen Moms will graduate from College by the age of 30.

8 out of 10 Fathers of Latina Teen Moms will not marry the mother of their child.

And, 25% of Latina Teen Moms go on welfare within 1 year of the baby's birth.

Mentor Teams for Large Club

2010-05-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

We have one club meeting that serves several schools. We are going to take a traditional Young Life approach to mentor training and to developing leaders.

We are going to place women into teams. They will all be trained at the same time, but we have three main schools, and we would like each team to focus contact work on one of those particular schools.

At each school we will have a mentor team leader. She will be responsible for her team to do a monthly lunch and figure out if they'd like to do a weekly get-together of some sort at the school.

They will all attend the same outreach club together but they are just broken down in a smaller ratio to get to know the girls. Plus they will have closer fellowship among themselves. We have some great Young Life vets who will be the team leaders at the schools.

Shared by Adrienne Sommerville--Charlestown, WV

Club Reflection E-mail

2010-05-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Try sending a "Club Reflection" e-mail to your mentors after every Club... with thank-yous to mentors for the specific parts they played, highlights from Club, questions about things they could have done differently, and updates on the girls. It is a great way to "debrief", build a team spirit, and help mentors who weren't there to feel involved!

Shared by Monica Linde--Philadelphia

Spaghetti Feed Restaurant Partnership

2010-05-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

We have developed a relationship with a local restaurant called The Tap Club that does spaghetti fundraising dinners on Sundays for local groups. If you don't have a local restaurant that already does fundraising dinners, this may be something you could suggest/request!

We keep the cost very reasonable and invite people to come after church, and this year we had over 250 people attend! Tickets are $7 -$1 goes to the owner as well as profit from drinks, $3 goes to the chef who oversees the cooking and $3 goes to us. They do all of the work of cooking, set-up, and clean-up.

We also have a bake sale and auction at the dinner, and altogether this year we made $2,700. Teen moms come to earn some credit off their camp deposit. It is so wonderful to see our girls working together and really having a great time! It is also a great fellowship time as everyone seems to love just hanging out and visiting with each other.

Shared by Judy Pytlik--Pittsburgh North Hills

Mall Scavenger Hunt

2010-05-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

We just held a scavenger hunt at a local mall with the girls, babies and leaders and it was great! We gave the girls a bag with snacks for them and the babies, split them into teams with leaders and then sent them out with a YoungLives Scavenger Hunt Checklist to find things around the mall. We met after an hour in the food court and while everyone ate, the leaders tallied up the scores and we handed out prizes for the winning team. It was a great way to spend an afternoon with the girls and it cost us very little to do it!

Shared by Anneke Brown--Fairfield County, CT

Everything You Need to Know: Camp Trip Leading

2010-04-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

Lindsey Patchell (Southern Division Coordinator) recently shared her wisdom on camp trip leading in a podcast with lots of great hints, ideas and tips!

Download the YoungLives Camp Trip Leading podcast now! Also download the YoungLives Trip Leader Training document that has a lot of the information Lindsey covers in the podcast.

Check out the YoungLives Camp Trip Leader Checklist...it has the links and details for all the documents, dollars and deadlines involved in leading a camp trip.

Check out the Camp Trip Leader Packet that has lots of information for camp consolidated in one place (this is more detailed than the checklist above).

Tips on Recruiting Childcare #2

2010-04-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

I've had pretty good success recruiting at our regional committee/leader weekend.. Areas that didn't have YoungLives and were either considering starting it or just had a couple women who wanted to be involved would send a few women to camp as childcare.

Also, committee & mentors make great childcare, too... committee members get to see & experience what camp is all about, and older mentors can still come to camp without doing all the physical activity that is involved with being a leader.

And don't forget that parents can bring their 14-year old kids! Makes for a fun way for a family to serve together without going out of the country.

Shared by Rebecca Asper

Ideas for Recruiting Childcare #1

2010-04-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

This year I am trying to get a church to take me on as a mission. They will gather the mission team 3-10 people. They will raise the money. They will have a commissioning at the services before they leave. And then they will come to camp and serve as childcare! Everything is taken care of :)

Also I am surrounded by suburban YL clubs that are wanting to help and serve however they can. So we are getting a few campaigner groups to come, as well as some work crew kids that can't serve for a month!

--Shared by Erin Kennedy (Chicago, IL)

Rummage Sale

2010-04-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

Every year we put on a rummage sale to help raise money for camp...usually we end up making around $5000 each year. But this isn't your typical on-the-front-lawn type of sale.

First...we get a PRIME location to hold it. Ours is in the parking lot of a supportive church that is on the main drag in town.

Second...we collect items several months ahead of time. We ask a local storage unit business to donate a large unit (sometimes two) for two or three months ahead of time. Then we start asking folks for their gently used, functioning items....key words GENTLY USED and FUNCTIONING. I have no qualms about inducing-guilt into people enough ahead of time that they don't donate their crap that we can't really sell. We sometimes have folks go around ahead of time to yard sales and ask for their leftovers (again making sure to ask only for the good leftovers). We have sent flyers out to our mailing list asking for donations.

We have ended up with a lot of great items...furniture, cars (yes, cars!) and countless other household items. A couple things that we do avoid: exercise equipment-unless it is quality, it won't sell; appliances-again unless it is truly a new item...it may not sell and then you are stuck with a dumping fee; and organs (not body parts...but the musical kind!). Don't know why, but we have had multiple people try to give us organs. We made the mistake of taking one...it didn't sell...so we said never again. One option on the questionable items: if the donor is someone you know well, you can accept the donation with the condition that they take it back if it doesn't sell.

Third...we ask local businesses to donate any clearance or overstock items to our sale. They get a write off (sometimes more than what they would end up selling the items for) and we get GREAT yard sale items (people love new things at yard sales!). This actually came about by accident...we had a YoungLives supporter and former committee member who worked a local business that asked one year if we wanted all these items. We, of course, said, "YES!" They ended up donating around $8K worth of retail items. We thought, "Why not ask other businesses?"

Finally, we sell our hearts out. It does help to have a sales person who can sell and haggle a bit. Generally, we don't even price everything. We did for years, but stopped the last couple and made just as much money...so we figured why go through the hassle of tagging everything. We do tag large items with a fairly high price. We also make sure that it is well known with signs and flyers being handed out that this is a fundraiser.

Oh, one last hint, that we implemented last year. Every year we would hold our sale at the beginning of June...hoping and praying we would make enough for camp and hoping and praying it wouldn't rain on us (it doesn't stop raining in the Seattle area until after July 4th). Finally last year, we got smart and decided to hold our rummage sale in August. That way we didn't have to worry about rain AND we would have the money in the bank for camp for the next summer. We would have an idea how much there was well in advance and could plan accordingly...holding other fundraisers if need be.

Please feel to contact me (Amy Bonzon) if you have questions.

Food Fair and Auction Camp Fundraiser

2010-04-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

Our local area started a food fair-auction fundraiser (we call it the Palate of the Plateau) ten years ago and it has been a great way to raise money and publicize Young Life/YoungLives with the local community.

The food comes from local restaurants...we ask them to donate at least 300 sample size portions of one or two items from their menu. We provide the plates/bowls for serving. They just bring the food. In return they get the publicity provided by our advertising and the guests who come.

We then sell tickets ($10 in advance/$15 at the door for adults and $5/$7 for kids). The ticket gets the adults 10 food coupons and kids 5 food coupons. Each food coupon is turned in to a restaurant for a sample.

We ask attendees to vote for their favorites and give out awards in recognition to the restaurants...Best Main Course, Best Dessert, Best Decorated booth, People's Choice (overall favorite), etc.

Also going on at the event are some silent auction tables and a live auction. Auction items are procured from local businesses.

This event does take a bit of planning and work ahead of time...but even in our small community of 50,000 (if you include outlaying areas), we have been able to net $20-30K each year.

Feel free to contact me (Amy Bonzon) for more details for putting on the event.

Say Yes to the Dress Camp Fundraiser

2010-04-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

my partners in crime for this event, anita and becky, are amazing, godly women. they came up with this incredibly creative idea, and i quickly jumped on board.
we collected donated dresses from anyone and everyone we know, sorted them by size, and held a massive one day sale for anyone who wanted to shop for a good cause. every dress was $25, no matter how awesome or not. we sold 44 dresses, enough to pay for 2 girls and their babies to go to camp this summer. amazing!
we learned a lot, and made some $$. we donated the bad and the ugly to goodwill, and kept a few crazy ones for young life skit costumes. we are taking a bunch of non-prom dresses to a resale shop, and anything we get there will go towards the camp scholarships as well. the remaining prom dresses will be sold at a local high school at a one-time after school sale. the whole thing was a lot of work, but so much fun.
the pictures i've added show all the dresses, then 2 special ones that my sister purchased. they are both designer dresses in her very tiny size, and each unique and beautiful. we had a lot of great designer items donated, so some folks walked away with incredible deals.

Shared by Becca Eby of Lakewood, TX

Junior Mentor curriculum or Mentoring Dischipleship guide Laid Out!

2010-03-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a 38 week discipleship guide for someone who is really interested in going deep in their relationship with Jesus. Not all girls will be ready for this, but if a teen mom says she wants to know Jesus and study every week... here is a great resource! It would be especially good curriculum for a junior mentor!

http://www.mastersplan.org/discipleship/resources/discipleship-tool/

They also have tips on how to disciple a person.