Humans of YouthWorks

 

What does YouthWorks look like? It’s a great question. It can be answered through our purpose, vision, and values and the communities we serve in. It can be seen through the thousands of youth that serve on-site throughout the summer. But you don’t see the big picture until you’ve met the people.

 

So this year, we’re introducing you to the Humans of YouthWorks – a collection of photos and profiles of people serving alongside us across the country. You can follow the posts with #HumansOfYW.

 

Hannah, Site Director in Logan, WV

 

Meet Hannah. This is Hannah’s second summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff and she went on YouthWorks trips in high school. This summer, she is the Site Director in Logan, WV.

I really enjoyed my first summer. It was just a good summer and it really changed my heart a lot and changed the way I looked at my future and what I wanted to do. I worked in a prison last year and I just thought this would be a good transition – working on the Reservation, working in a prison, working for YouthWorks again before I graduate.

I go to Iowa State and I’m studying Landscape Architecture. I have no clue what I want to do with it. I thought I had an idea going into it freshman year, but then working on the Reservation and doing landscape-related things and having this experience, that’s changed. It changed a lot from what I wanted to do my freshman year.

 

Isaac, Work Projects in Blackfeet Reservation, MT

 

Meet Isaac. This is his first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff. He is the Work Projects Coordinator on Blackfeet Reservation in Montana.

“I did the World Race last year and one of my squad mates is doing YouthWorks this summer and she recommended me to YouthWorks. So the recruiting team sent me an email a few months ago. At the time, I was planning on graduating and going onto a full-time career – now I’m graduated and going back to school, so I ended up with the summer off. At the very last minute, they sent me another email – last Wednesday – saying ‘hey, we’re still looking for 3 people, would you still be interested?’ I thought ‘you have 3 spots to fill, I don’t have anything else to do with my summer.’

“[The World Race] was a super life-changing experience. I loved it. It was pretty awesome. I’ve been doing domestic and foreign missions since I was 10, so it wasn’t a totally new concept to me. But usually I’ve always been on the going end – the side of it where you go somewhere that you’re part of a team doing service, as opposed to actually being a staff member that’s facilitating. I thought it would be really neat, because I had so many people influence me on the facilitating side of it, I thought it would be neat to experience that side of it and be able to facilitate it for somebody else. A lot of the kids out there are in the same exact shoes I was in five years ago. I’m super, super excited to be [living in the community].”

 

3 Works Projects Coordinators + 1 Outrageous Sports Coordinators

 

Meet Michael (Outrageous Sports in Leech Lake), Alex (Work Projects in Kansas City, KS), Austin (Work Projects in Pine Ridge), and Jason (Work Projects in Rosebud Reservation). YW2016 is all of their first times as YouthWorks Summer Staff.

“[I’m excited about] experiencing a new culture that I’ve never been exposed to. Just knowing what it’s like to live on a reservation and what people go through.” – Michael

“[I’m most looking forward to] building relationships with the community and getting to know the people that work with us and hopefully making a difference in the lives of the community.” – Alex

“I’m nervous about the youth coming in not understanding the culture. Because that’s a community I’m going to be in all summer. That’s why I’m excited to be Work Projects as well, because it’s a lot of just one-on-one with specific community.” – Austin

“I’m studying Biblical and Theological studies with a minor in Philosophy. I want to be a professor, most likely with philosophy. I wanted to do Biblical Studies, because it’s a good foundation.” – Jason

 

Aldre, Site Director in Denver, CO

 

Meet Aldre. This is his first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff and he is the Site Director in Denver, CO.

“I’m from California. I’m in school at California Baptist University, studying Criminal Justice. [I decided to study it] after just looking around at what’s going on in communities and looking at it from the eyes of Christ that we’re all one, one race – regardless the color of your skin. I feel there’s a huge problem within the African American community, respecting law enforcement because of how the news portrays the situations and all of that. So I want to be able to go in as an African-American male to kind of infiltrate and show them it’s not a sign of racism, it’s a sign of protection.

[I’m most excited] to just volunteer in the community, honestly, to be broken. I want God to put me in situations that I can be broken, so I can grow from that. And then with my team, that I am able to bond with them and that they are able to grow. Just to be broken by God and be able to serve better.”

 

Elizabeth, Site Director at Pine Ridge 1

 

Meet Elizabeth. While this is Elizabeth’s first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff, she has been on six YouthWorks trips as both a participant and an adult leader.

“I just graduated and I initially planned on applying to Peace Corps. But because of my parents’ jobs, I couldn’t do it. I found out in January that I was rejected – that was the thing that I wanted to do, it was what I was going to do. It was kind of like, wow, I have to do something else. I was actually flipping through my YouthWorks pictures as an adult leader from last year and was like “I can do that! I’m an adult, I can do this!” I applied two days after I was rejected and the same day one of the recruiters [contacted me and] said “hey, we see you’ve started an app – do you want to talk about it?” And that was it, that’s when I knew this is what I was going to be doing.

“I have a double major in History and Anthropology. So this is perfect – people, communities, history of the Native American Reservation. I’m really excited to get to know the community. When I was a participant, I got to know the community, but not for a long period of time. So those were those relationships where you’re like, well I’m leaving at the end of the week and probably not coming back. But this is great, because you can build those relationships and communicate, even after the summer ends, these are full relationships you get to build.”

 

Kyle, Kids Club Coordinator in Osage Nation

 

Meet Kyle. This is his first summer on YouthWorks Summer Staff and he went on YouthWorks trips in high school. He is the Kids Club Coordinator in Osage Nation.

“I went on a couple of [YouthWorks] trips in high school and just decided I wanted to be able to go out and kind of be able to support a community, I guess. I went to Philadelphia for my first one and Cairo for my second.

“I felt a lot like God was calling me to [YouthWorks], but I also wanted to grow in my relationship with God and have a renewed understanding of who God is and his character.”

 

Krista, Site Director in Wind River, WY

 

Meet Krista. This is her first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff. She is the Site Director in Wind River, WY.

“I actually went on a YouthWorks trip as a Youth Intern with my home church. We went to Osage. I got to experience what it was like to work and be around an Indian Reservation. I had never been on one before, so that was a different experience. And getting to work with kids in groups from all different denominations was definitely something different, because we’re used to going on trips that were Methodist-based, so working with a bunch of different demonimations all together at one site with one goal and everyone having a love for God was a very cool experience.

“We did Kids Club, we did a couple different work sites, we got to work at a food pantry. We got to work at their schools, because we found out that their schools only have one janitor between the three schools, I believe. One of the fun things the kids got to do was they got to participate in bus washing, so they got to have fun outside, playing in the water, washing school buses. Seeing how they had fun, but were working at the same time was really cool.”

 

Jada, Outrageous Sports Coordinator in Marvell, AR

 

Meet Jada. This is her first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff. Jada is the Outrageous Sports Coordinator in Marvell, AR.

“We actually had a YouthWorks recruiter come to my college, so I actually went up to the table and talked to her for a while. I go to Young Harris College, it’s up in North Georgia. When I was talking to the recruiter, it just seemed like a really cool organization. I did a little more research on it and I decided it couldn’t hurt to apply. So I kind of did it on a whim, honestly, and I kept getting pushed along in the application process – I was like, okay, okay… And then I actually got the job, so I quit my other summer job to do this. I was going to be an Orientation Leader at school again.

“I’ve done a lot of spiritual growth, this school year especially, so I’m just excited to continue to grow and see what’s going on, I guess, in the spiritual realm of Jada. It will be cool. And it’ll be cool to see growth in others, as well. I’m really excited about the community and the youth pouring into me, more so than I am pouring into them, just because I think there’s a lot that I can learn personally.”

 

Rachel, Site Director in Kansas City, MO

 

Meet Rachel. This is her first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff, but has been on five YouthWorks trips as both a participant and adult leader. She is the Site Director in Kansas City, MO.

“I went on my first YouthWorks trip when I had finished 8th grade and was heading into 9th grade and was a little terrified of going on the trip. Of course I came back loving it and have gone back a bajillion of times and now I’m working for YouthWorks. I love connecting with communities and I love serving – always have. Volunteering with any organization, that’s awesome. Just the fact that I’ve had those experiences, I want to empower youth to have those awesome experiences too.

“I’ve absolutely loved getting to know different communities, but on top of that being in a variety of community types and learning how they’re different too. I’ve been to an urban site, I’ve been on a rural site, I’ve been to a reservation site, and just seeing the differences between those and seeing how it empowers the kids – and the adult leaders – to have an awesome experience and then take that back to their own communities. I’ve been a part of groups that have come back and are like “let’s go serve!” and they do! One of the groups did the trip right after they’re 8th grade year, went back to the community, then every single fall until they graduated, served an organization in their town that [works with mentally disabled people] and actually houses people in-home. So they went to those homes and raked leaves! Just very simple service, but it empowered them to do that for the rest of their high school career. I was actually one of the kids in that group.”

 

Allyssa, Kids Club Coordinator in Marvell, AR

 

Meet Allyssa. This is her first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff, but she has been on several trips before. Allyssa is serving as the Kids Club Coordinator in Marvell, AR.

“I’ve actually been on a bunch of YouthWorks trips. I went to Cincinnati, OH, Louisville, KY, Puerto Rico, and I can’t remember the other one. I started my freshman year of high school up to my senior year when I went to Puerto Rico, ultimately that trip changed my life and I wanted to do mission work afterwards. So ever since, I’ve been on this journey to be a missionary because YouthWorks!

“Because of my life-changing experience as a participant, I kind of want this to be that stepping stone for a participant in their journey. They could be in the same position I was in and I just want to be that person that changes their life – maybe not directly, but on that journey with them. So I get to explore another city, meet a community and be their family.”

 

Lauren, Work Projects in Cairo, IL

 

Meet Lauren. #YW2016 is her first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff. She is serving as the Work Projects Coordinator in Cairo, IL.

“I heard about YouthWorks through a friend who I go to college with and he did it last summer, so I talked to him a little bit. And then I saw a posting for it at my school on our job board, so I decided to apply! I wanted a bigger leadership role than being a counsel or at a summer camp or something like that. I wanted a bigger leadership role that required more out of me and I felt like this was a step up and, if I got hired for this, I thought that was the Lord’s call – that he was calling me to a higher position. And this was a higher position, as far as leadership.
“I’m get to know the people [in Cairo] and figure out the differences of where I grew up and see the things they go through and that they encounter and just embracing that new culture and the differences that we can share.”

 

Josh, Program Coordinator in Atlanta, GA

 

Meet Josh. #YW2016 is his first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff. He is serving in Atlanta as the Program Coordinator.

“I had heard about YouthWorks before [from being an adult leader last year], but I wasn’t ready yet. I wanted to know more about it, going on a mission trip as an adult leader first. And then get the experience first, that way, if I come in the position, I can lead by example. I applied this summer, because I interned at my church for 3 months and then God was working in me, like ‘just do it!’ I’m like, alright! Since I wear a lot of Nike, I’m going to just do it! And then I applied, I got the interview, I got the job. Super blessed.

“[I’m most looking forward to] just being the Program Coordinator. I get to experience all of the service sites and it gives me a lot of time where I can bond with the kids from all the different churches. And just excited to do life with them and build relationships with them and lead people to Jesus. Super excited. It’s a great job!”

 

Juliann, Utility

 

Meet Juliann. This is her second summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff and she will be serving as a Utility Staff this summer.

“Honestly, I had a really challenging summer last summer, but I loved it. I loved my team, I loved the challenges that I got to face, I loved the community – I was just mind-blown of the way they loved us so well. But the main reason why I came back was because I got through the whole summer and I finally looked back and reflected on it and even when I thought I was alone, looking at the ways God showed up was incredible. One week in particular, we had over 200 community members show up to the cookout. A man walked around the pool and invited everybody! And we hadn’t planned for that, so we were thrown off, but it was so cool to see – it was like fish and loaves the way food was pouring in. One adult leader said, “Oh! My daughter wanted to bake us cookies and I had no use for them, so I have them up in my room!” So she brought down cookies. There was another woman who was like, “We packed a bunch of chips!” And then obviously it was a perk that we had a grocery store across the street, but we were able to get enough burgers, hot dogs, and we were overwhelmed by the amount of food we had leftover. So it was just really, really cool. Looking back, it was just how God completely was there in every single moment – even when I felt like he wasn’t, I wasn’t alone.

“I would suggest applying and giving it a try. I think YouthWorks does a really good job at loving their staff and just making sure they are cared for the way that they need to be. I also just think it’s an awesome thing and a lot of fun and looking back, the amount of growth that you have is awesome.”

 

Danielle, Utility

 

Meet Danielle. This is her first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff, but she’s been on two YouthWorks trips previously. Danielle is serving as a Utility Staff this summer.

“I went on a mission trip back in 2011 to West Virginia and I did Kid’s Club that whole week, so that’s when I heard about it. And then we went to Milwaukee in 2013. I actually applied last summer and didn’t get it – I applied really late and positions were full, so they told me to apply again next year. So they called me this year and said, “Hey, try to apply again!” I told them that I actually had military service to do. I’m a sophomore in college and I’m going to be a junior and you have to do military training our junior year, but you can opt to do it sophomore year. I had opted to do it sophomore year, but they actually emailed me two days after YouthWorks had called, saying they weren’t going to have me do military service this year, so I could do it next summer. So I was like, let’s email [YouthWorks] back! That was pretty cool. I’m really excited.

“I just love YouthWorks. This organization has brought so much to my life. Back in 2011, going to West Virginia [with YouthWorks] opened my heart and my mind to missions work. We did go on trips with other mission groups in 2012 and 2014, so that was awesome too. But something with YouthWorks just stuck, instead of the other places. Which was just incredible. I’m so excited to see what God does this summer- open my heart, open my mind.”

 

Caitlin, Site Director in Duluth, MN

 

Meet Caitlin. This is her first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff. She is serving in Duluth, MN as the Site Director.

“I’m studying non-profit management at school and I would like to integrate that with doing mission work. One of my friends did YouthWorks last year and came back and told me about it and it just seemed like something I was really interested in to get more of the hands-on work non-profits do, instead of an office.

“I want to work with children and youth. I have a heart for Hispanic communities and children with special needs, so I’m hoping God will help work something out so I am able to do that when I graduate.”

 

Anne, Site Director in Rapid City, SD

 

Meet Anne. This is Anne’s first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff, but she has been on YouthWorks trips before. She is the Site Director in Rapid City, SD.

“I did a trip when I was in middle school to Lynn/Boston and I loved it, it was one of the first mission trips I did. And then I worked at camp the past 3 summers and I loved that, so YouthWorks was always at the back of my mind but I never really thought it was the time to do it, because I wanted to keep going back to camp. And then I graduated last May and I needed to find a job. Camp offered me an internship for the year, so I did that and it goes until May. So I thought, I don’t want to go back to camp – I’m kind of moving up from being a counselor to an intern. I didn’t want to be in a leadership position, because I wanted to work with the kids. On a whim, I decided to apply for YouthWorks and I got in contact and they wanted to talk to me about being a Site Director and I thought, okay! So here I am!”

 

Josh, Site Director in Northern Cheyenne

 

Meet Josh. This is his third summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff. Josh is the Site Director in Northern Cheyenne this summer.

“I’ve been a participant two different times – once in 2007 in Green Bay and once in 2012 in Crow. After going to Crow my senior year of high school, I kind of was dead-set on applying for YouthWorks. It didn’t really work out my first year, so I worked at a gas station my first summer of college. Then my second summer, I applied and was able to get the job as Program Coordinator. I came back for a second YouthWorks summer at Pine Ridge 2. The gas station was fine, but the YouthWorks summer is much more enriching. And even though working at the gas station is less hours making the same amount of money and spending it all, I enjoyed being with YouthWorks a lot more.”

 

Emani, Site Director in St. Louis

 

Meet Emani. This is Emani’s first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff and she is the Site Director in St. Louis.

“I didn’t even think too much about St. Louis. When I found out that’s where I was at, I was like ‘Okay!’ Coming from LA to another big city, that’s going to be really exciting. To be somewhere new, meet new people, and be around a new community, I’m excited for the whole experience. I haven’t started the job yet, but I think this is one of those important and meaningful jobs, so if anyone really wants to do good work that gives back to the community, they should definitely do YouthWorks! I haven’t even started yet, but I really do think this is a great program.”

 

David, Program Coordinator in Queens

 

Meet David. This is David’s first summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff. He is the Program Coordinator in Queens.

“My heart is really towards high school and college students. I’m big into the arts, so my goal after graduation is to be able to just travel and talk to high school and college students and use my gift of singing and spoken word to share the Gospel and make it simple. So that’s my goal, my hope, to be able to do that.
I’m excited for this opportunity to lead. To be a great leader. Just to be able to share the Gospel with students and people I’ll be working with, in a way they’ve maybe never heard it before.”

 

Colleen, Site Director in Leech Lake

 

Meet Colleen. This is her first summer on YouthWorks Summer Staff and she is the Site Director in Leech Lake, MN.

 

“I went to Africa for the first time in between my junior and senior year of high school and then again in 2014, when I was a sophomore in college. The first time was for a month and the second time was for three months, when I was interning with some missionaries in Kampala, Uganda and we traveled all around. I feel like it was really affirming for me for what I felt before – I was called to Uganda and Africa. But after coming back to the US, and going through graduation, I really felt like God was saying that that’s not where I’m supposed to be at the moment, which is eventually what led me to looking at other things and YouthWorks. I had a friend who worked for YouthWorks and we talked about it and I decided to apply and now I’m one of the Site Directors. I think it’s been really good to see my love for missions and ministry, specifically in a cross-cultural context started in Africa, but I feel like this season God has been expanding it to ‘what does that mean on a broader scale?’ – more than just the one country I’ve been heavily involved in.”

“I felt like I was called to missions in high school and I’ve been to Africa a few times and that’s where I would eventually like to end up doing missions work. There are so many ways you can do missions – you can be a teacher, social work, so many different avenues. But I felt like business was an aspect in all of those. I also really like dealing with issues of poverty and therefore knowing aspects of economics and how poverty works into that. So that’s what led me to go the direction of non-profit management.”

 

Robby, Site Director in Lake Traverse

 

Meet Robby. This is Robby’s third summer as YouthWorks Summer Staff. Robby is the Site Director in Lake Traverse this summer.

“I’m a Site Director at Lake Traverse, where I was a Work Projects Coordinator last summer. It’s exciting! During the interviews, they ask “where do you want to go?” And I’d love to see something new. I’ve only ever seen reservations for YouthWorks, so only ever seen one service model – I don’t know what it looks like for a Service Coordinator on site. So I thought about that and really liked that, but there are people that I genuinely miss in Lake Traverse. Like Mary calls me once a month – from a different number every time – to see how I’m doing. For a while I knew if it was a 612 area code, it was YouthWorks calling. Now if it’s a 605, I know it’s Mary. There are people that I’m excited to see again and excited to continue relationships – I’m excited to go back. And Mary is excited that I’m coming back.

“I worked for YouthWorks in 2012. I loved it, and it was something that just kind of came out of the blue. I was going to do something else and it didn’t work out, so someone told me about YouthWorks – I applied, I was hired in April and then I was going to Minnesota, from Florida! It was a big transition. So, I applied and was hired in December for the summer of 2013, I was ready to come back and I met a girl and decided I didn’t want to leave for the summer. I called and said, “Hey, sorry, I can’t.” And at the time, I had it all justified in my head. I really needed to work in a church, intern somewhere I could see myself in the future – so I had reasons for it. Obviously those were something I made up for myself to make me feel better. I basically came away from that thinking, “I’ve cut the cord with YouthWorks… burned that bridge.” Then May 5, 6, 7 of 2015 – something like that – I got a call from Becky (a YW recruiter) saying “Hey, what are you doing this summer? We are looking for guys this summer that can play the guitar.” It was very much like, “Oh! This is still a possibility.” So got hired May 14 or 15. A week later I went to RAMP and then finished the summer, got an internship in the YouthWorks office and here I am!

Oh, before the summer even started my relationship with the girl was over. It was a great turn of events. It worked out pretty well! I’m happy with where things have gone.”

 

Want to apply for YouthWorks Summer Staff? Apply here.

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