More than 70 people gathered at the Seaside Centre on Nov. 2 for a fundraiser to raise the operating budget for Young Life on the Sunshine Coast.
Young Life is a Christian outreach ministry geared at loving and building relationships with youth in their world and encouraging them to know Jesus Christ.
The fundraiser started off with youth from Gibsons, Sechelt and Pender Harbour serving guests dessert, tea and coffee, followed by an evening program which included two mixers that had the entire crowd in laughter.
After a short video explaining the components of Young Life, Eric Keillor, regional director for Young Life, shared that, "Young Life's goal is to love teenagers in their world - to go where they are, be in their world and earn their trust and friendship."
He went on to explain the five Cs of Young Life - leaders doing contact work in schools, having youth attend a Young Life Club, which is a fun weekly gathering with music, games and a short message, and going to camp at either Young Life's Rockridge Canyon in Princeton or Malibu Club on the Sunshine Coast or even a ski camp or surf camp, in which leaders are having fun and building relationships with kids. The other two Cs involve a dedicated adult committee, which is already made up of volunteers from across the Sunshine Coast, and Campaigners: a weekly Bible study and connecting Christian youth to a local church of their choosing.
Committee member Chris Mortensen shared a presentation that included hand written excerpts from teens about what was really going on in their lives and how hard high school can be. This presentation was very powerful in showing the guests how many youth are hurting inside and reaching out to be heard and valued.
Mortensen then encouraged guests to help the Young Life Sunshine Coast committee in the goal of reaching out to the youth on the Sunshine Coast and contribute financially to raise the funds for the annual operating budget of $93,000, which includes hiring another staff member and administrative costs to establish Young Life in Gibsons, the Pender Harbour area and Sechelt.
Young Life team leader Will Dow was hired this summer and started Young Life work in Gibsons in September. Approximately $35,000 has been raised to date and $58,000 is still needed to reach the committee's goal.
For more information about Young Life, see www.younglife.ca or email [email protected].
-Submitted
