Regional Post: The Southeast Region

All of our sites are split up into four different region teams that work year round developing relationships in communities and working out the details for the summer. This month we will be featuring all of the regions! Regional Director Leah Susi and Area Directors Leah Samples and Dave Jaeger comprise the Southeast Region. This helpful post comes to you from Leah Samples.

 

Howdy’ Partner, no really “How do you partner?”

 

This is a question at YouthWorks that we ask ourselves often; not only ‘How do you partner?’ but ‘How do you partner well?’ As we enter into communities we desire to develop respectable partnerships with churches and organizations that are in the community lastingly.  One community where we have developed this type of partnership is in Chattanooga, TN, with the Recreation Centers and Boys & Girls Club. As we dive into discussing how to partner well, we will look to the said partnership as an example.

YouthWorks has been working with the Boys and Girls Club and Recreation Centers in the community of Chattanooga for a while but a couple of years ago alongside the organizations we asked ourselves how can we develop a deeper partnership.

First we asked ourselves…

 

1)     “Where to start?”

Well, let’s start with the definition of partnership.

“A relationship between individuals or groups that is characterized by mutual cooperation and responsibility, as for the achievement of a specified goal.”

 

2)     Ask: What can you each bring to the table?

As we entered into conversations with the organizations about how we could enter into a relationship that would be marked by “mutual cooperation and responsibility” we came to the consensus that YouthWorks would provide a staff member that could facilitate a Kids Club at each of the Recreation Centers and Boys and Girls Club during the summer.

This would be partnership that would be marked by “mutual cooperation and responsibility for the achievement of a specified goal.”

 

3)     Ask: Can your goals complement each other?

With any partnership it is important to make sure that each organization is working toward a similar goal.

Listed below are the goals of each of the organizations that would be a part of the partnership.

 

The goal of Kids Club is to love YouthWorks community children through relational, Christ-centered programming while at the same time creating an opportunity for youth to serve in a meaningful way.

 

The goal of the Boys & Girls Club is to enable young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

 

The goal of the Recreation Centers is to focus on recreation, leadership and character building.

 

 

While the goals of each organization are slightly different they are not mutually exclusive and support one another. YouthWorks is excited to be entering into our 3^rd year of this partnership, we would love for your youth to come be a part of this partnership this summer in Chattanooga!