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Access LUMAs $10,000
Jacksonville, Florida
The LUMAS (Leadership, Unity, Mentoring, Arts/Academics and Spirituality) program will serve youth from low-income families who have experienced or been exposed to violence in their home or community. The program addresses many of the issues facing youth, e.g., academics/school, anger management, life skills, college, drugs, sex, parent and family relationships, leadership, gangs/social groups, artistic expression, and spiritual growth through the power of God’s word.
Children of Africa Hope Center $7,000
Naivasha, Kenya
This outreach ministry targets street children from the Naivasha parish in Kenya and refugee youth living in Kenya from Burundi, Rwanda, and Sudan. Young people involved in the church plan and administer the program, which involves faith sharing, gathering and distributing school supplies, discussions and seminars, and spiritual retreats.
Clubhouse: Teen Leadership 2005 & Medway $8,600
Dayton, Ohio
Seed money will make it possible for Medway United Methodist Church to become the ninth host church for the Clubhouse program in the Dayton area. Teens are trained to administer a free after-school and summer program for families who cannot afford quality care. A teen leadership conference will be held to reach all youth involved in ministry at the nine sites and expand the pool of team volunteers.
Cup of Cold Water Program $9,700
Johnson City, Tennessee
The 2005 Cup of Cold Water Program, a ministry of the Appalachia Service Project, will take place in conjunction with the Summer Home Repair Ministry Program. Thousands of youth and college-aged volunteers are involved each summer in providing home repairs. This program component adds essential services such as drilling wells for individuals and families without access to public water, installing septic systems for homes without indoor plumbing, and upgrading electrical systems for homes whose wiring poses significant fire hazards.
Development Center for Persons with Disabilities $10,000
Mindanao, Philippines
This comprehensive program offers Filipino women and girls with disabilities access to services necessary to enable them to live productive and independent lives. Through a series of workshops, seminars, and other training opportunities, participants will gain employment skills and health-related information, and benefit from advocacy and empowerment programs.
Generation to Generation Mentoring Program (G-2-G) $10,000
Grand Rapids, Michigan
G-2-G’s mission is to empower high-risk youth through education and positive relationships while sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Through these positive relationships it is G-2-G’s goal to link students to a local congregation. Plainfield United Methodist Church staff and volunteers work closely with school counselors, probation officers, parents, and mentors to provide appropriate tutoring and support for teens.
Network for Healthy Native American Youth $7,000
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
The “Native Dimensions” Network will be established to connect Native American youth and adult workers with youth through a specially designed website. Goals for the network include identifying and nurturing future leaders and combating high rates of suicide and alcohol abuse for youth within native communities. A controlled chat room, ongoing web activities, a peer-leaders program, and a resource “hotline” will be made available.
Peace Meal Café $12,000
Petersburg, Virginia
Peace Meal Café helps unemployed, low, or very low-income youth who have dropped out of school and then have obtained a GED through the YouthBuild program, to complete a certificate in food services management. By working in a café for the local community college and developing a lunch delivery service for area businesses, youth will be provided productive alternatives to unhealthy life paths. Self-empowerment, spiritual direction, and daily challenges to live out the gospel will be offered. Training will result in opportunities to obtain living wage jobs and enhanced career options.
Peer Mentoring Partnership $7,000
Utica, New York
This project will recruit youth from area United Methodist churches and local high schools to reach out and develop trusting relationships with younger at-risk children. Youth trained in a peer leadership program will help create connections with their peers, resulting in reduced feelings of alienation and rebelliousness and/or anti-social behavioral responses to everyday life circumstances. Both youth mentors and the at-risk youth will benefit from positive peer relationships and increased positive community experiences that encourage behaviors in accordance with community norms. Participants will develop healthy beliefs in their own competency, well-being, and sense of belonging.
PowerZone Youth Center $13,000
Pasco, Washington
PowerZone seeks to positively impact the high dropout rate for high school students in Pasco, Washington. The program reaches out to young people, mentors them to find their God-given potential, and releases them into a new lifestyle and future. Through solid, healthy relationships PowerZone mentors and volunteers address the basic needs of these young people and their families to create an environment for success. As the youth move into leadership and mentoring positions in this ministry, they will find the encouragement and hope they need to personally succeed in life.
PT Trails – Trips for Kids $3,000
Dallas, Texas
PT Trails, a dynamic youth ministry model in the urban areas of Dallas, provides opportunities for health maintenance, environmental education, team building, and spiritual development through a unique combination of mountain biking and mentoring. Youth in Dallas are paired with positive mentors who encourage decisive actions that benefit both the youth and their community.
Super Saturday Deaf Youth Group $12,000
Baltimore, Maryland
The Super Saturday Deaf Youth Project is designed to gather isolated deaf youth for monthly meetings. The goals are faith development, socialization with deaf adult role models, and leadership development among the youth. The project further aims to involve this youth group in mission to other deaf youth at a deaf youth camp and in other local service projects.
Teen Centers for Sidewalk Sunday School $7,400
Phoenix, Arizona
The Sidewalk Sunday School ministry of the Desert Southwest Conference will open two teen centers in 2005 to serve inner-city youth who have few options for safe and positive opportunities for personal and social development. The teen centers will be open primarily on weekend nights and seek to nurture and enrich youths' lives through guest speakers, youth-initiated activities, leadership development, and quality time with caring adults. Youth will intentionally be included in the planning and administrative processes of establishing the teen centers.
The Starter Project $10,500
Liepaja City, Latvia
A new youth center will be created through the restoration of the church building’s attic. The center will support an after-school program for ages 7-13, scouting for ages 9-19, and an English club for a variety of ages. The project will reach out to more children and young people in the community, change the lives of more of the children and young people, and make God’s will real for them.
Each year the United Methodist Youth Organization commits a biblical tithe (10%) of their project budget to alleviate hunger outside the United States through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). This year’s funded UMCOR projects totaled $12,800.
2004 Youth Service Fund Grants
Christian Debutante — Master Commission $7,000
Monroe, Louisiana
The Christian Debutante-Master Commission seeks to guide youth in a Christian way of life by helping them learn how to express their personal faith through Bible study, leadership skills, planning youth activities, developing decision-making skills, and dealing with social and economic issues that they may face in the future. Through this comprehensive program, the youth are challenged to commit to teach others about Christ, seek membership with a church family, and develop a deeper knowledge of Holy Scripture.
Clubhouse: Project Stretch & Grow $8,000
Tripp City, Ohio
Project Stretch and Grow empowers teenagers with the skills necessary to mentor and train children in their community. YSF grant money will be used to expand current programming, allowing teens to lead children in community service projects, create career shadowing and mentorship programs, and establish two more days per week of ongoing after-school care for the children involved in the Clubhouse program.
Cup of Cold Water Program $10,000
Johnson City, Tennessee
The Cup of Cold Water Program, a ministry of the Appalachia Service Project, is dedicated to upgrading homes with basic utilities of water, septic, and electrical services. The 2004 program will drill for wells for individuals without access to public water and install septic systems for homes that currently have no indoor plumbing. The project hopes to involve over 14,000 youth and 100 college-aged students in this year's service opportunities.
United Methodist Martial Arts Program — Harrison Memorial UMC $2,400
Tulsa, Oklahoma
By instilling core Christian values, the United Methodist Martial Arts Program seeks to equip youth from the community with the skills they need to succeed in their schools, jobs, and lives. This program blends free martial arts training with opportunities for prayer, one-on-one scripture lessons, in-depth Bible studies, and service projects. Young people are invited to participate fully in the life of the church.
Junior Vacation Missionary Program (J-VAMP) $6,000
Liberia Annual Conference
J-VAMP seeks to revitalize youth and young adult ministry in Liberia by establishing new fellowship groups throughout the seven districts of this annual conference. This project will recruit and train young people to serve as leaders in this war-torn country. The witness, advocacy, and service of these "ambassadors of peace" will draw others to Christ, mobilize young people to be involved in positive community development, and help to reduce the culture of violence.
Mission Trip: Team Ecuador $10,000
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Mission Trip: Team Ecuador will educate and empower youth by involving them in hands-on leadership through service projects in South America. Youth will be stretched beyond their comfort zones and challenged to experience a life different than their own, share their faith with other Christians, and learn about different cultures. Participants will return home with a transformed understanding of mission to the world, faith-sharing experiences beyond cultural barriers, and the ability to articulate their diverse experiences.
Moses Ministry $8,000
Cincinnati, Ohio
The Moses Ministry is a ministry to at-risk youth in the inner city of Cincinnati, Ohio. The project provides youth with empowerment and training to work against the city's current culture of racial tension and unrest. Looking to the scriptural example of Moses, this ministry has developed a creative program which seeks to nurture, enrich, and expand upon the lives and experiences of the youth in the surrounding community.
National Training Site for Sidewalk Sunday School $10,000
Phoenix, Arizona
Sidewalk Sunday School of the Desert-Southwest Annual Conference is an innovative street ministry which reaches youth and families in the inner city. This ministry brings the gospel message out of the church buildings and into the hearts of young people through the use of a 14-foot box truck converted into a traveling church. The program helps make disciples of Jesus Christ and fosters positive youth development.
Out of School Services Program $9,000
St. Paul, Minnesota
The Hmong Community United Methodist Church is dedicated to promoting and advancing the youth of their community. Through constructive Out of School activities and positive support, the church seeks to encourage youth to explore faith in Jesus Christ and share this faith with others. Youth from within the church community hold the responsibility for planning, coordinating, and facilitating all of these Out of School activities.
Outreach—Wingshadow, Inc. $7,500
Fort Collins, Colorado
Outreach, a ministry of Wingshadow, Inc., seeks to offer hope and help to youth by nurturing trusting relationships and providing services that meet the needs of at-risk youth. They also provide intervention when it is needed. By introducing youth to a Christ-like lifestyle, Wingshadow, Inc.'s Outreach program helps break cycles of abuse, neglect, poverty, and the threat of violence — one young person at a time.
PT Trails $3,450
Dallas, Texas
PT Trails, a dynamic youth ministry model in an urban area of Dallas, provides opportunities for health maintenance, environmental education, team building, and spiritual development through a unique combination of mountain biking and mentoring. Youth in Dallas are paired with positive mentors who encourage decisive actions that benefit both the youth and their community.
The Living Tree Design Studio $7,500
Shepherd, Michigan
The Living Tree Design Studio will offer an after-school program for junior high and high school youth to spark interest and appreciation of art and design as a way of celebrating God's creation. Youth will be involved in the production, marketing, and sales of Christian-themed artwork at an annual arts festival. Profits from the sale of items will make this project self-sustaining. In addition to providing youth with specific skills, there will be opportunities to explore career opportunities consistent with their faith. Guest speakers and involvement in community service will help youth learn how to serve Christ in a positive, fun, and creative environment.
The Naivasha Street Children's Ministry $7,650
East Africa Annual Conference
The Naivasha Street Children's Ministry reaches out to the youth of the Naivasha community through education, outreach programs, and rehabilitation. 2004 YSF funds will be used to provide the Naivasha Street Children's Ministry with desperately needed school supplies and equipment to minister to the street children and provide them the education and training needed for employment to escape the cycle of poverty.
Each year the United Methodist Youth Organization commits a biblical tithe (10%) of their project budget to alleviate hunger outside the United States through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). This year’s funded UMCOR projects totaled $12,500.
Other
Project Transformation
Project Transformation has been a recipient of several Youth Service Fund and Shared Mission Focus on Young People grants over the years. Their belief is the church must take an active role in the spiritual and physical development of urban youth. By participating in projects such as Trips for Kids, youth receive healthy, adrenaline inducing, physical activity that meet the needs of natural pacification. Inspired by the encouragement of positive role models, youth participants develop healthy body images and increased self-esteem. Watch a short video about Project Transformation |
