There is excellent research that shows investing in youth leadership development makes a difference in the lives of youth and in their communities. But it also just makes sense. If kids believe that they can achieve great things, and we give them skills they need for success, it will be a win-win for them and for their community. The Texas School Safety Center has collected much of the research on the outcomes of youth leadership development programs. You can read the original article with references here. Here are five ways that youth leadership programs help young people and their … [Read more...]

It has been said that any youth development program is really a leadership development program. Any time we are investing in kids and young people, we are tapping into their potential and helping them grow skills for the future. While it might look different depending on the needs of each person and the goals of the program, ultimately we want to help young people achieve more than they thought they could. One of the benchmarks of success for our kids’ programs is that we see them moving into areas of leadership in the community and taking steps of confidence in areas like education, job … [Read more...]

Every summer we provide an opportunity for middle school students to experience summer camp with Young Life. Along with the typical summer experiences including exciting activities, outdoor time to explore Creation, and crazy fun sing-alongs, summer camp for our students can be a life-changing event. Most of our students have limited resources, so summer camp, or any kind of travel really, would be an impossible dream. Last year when we took our students to California, none of them had ever seen the ocean before. It was an incredible experience to see it again through their eyes! While … [Read more...]