youthfriends - From One Degree to Another

Last night, 1/24/12, I had an amazing opportunity to share my story of volunteering through YouthFriends. I thought I would post some of what I shared last night…

Most everyone wants to live lives that make a difference. We struggle though to know either where to begin or what to get involved with. I was in that place as a pastor about 15 months ago. I knew I needed to be involved in people’s lives, but didn’t know where to start.

It was at that time, that YouthFriends Director (at that time) Diane Caton came to a gathering of Hutchinson Area Pastors and spoke of the great needs we have in our community. There are numerous schools that have a large population on free and reduced lunch. There are especially needs for male role models in schools. Walking out of this meeting and hearing of that need, I signed up immediately.

After the brief training, I was eventually assigned by YouthFriends to be a WatchD.O.G. at Lincoln Elementary School. In my brief time there, I’ve noticed 3 benefits of serving as a volunteer:

1) Relationships. As a volunteer, I get to know the amazing people that serve in public education in our community. I get to interact with teachers and staff. This, coupled with the amazing staff at Communities That Care/YouthFriends positions me to succeed because I am related to people who believe in success. I also get to relate to students. I get to befriend and encourage children of all ages by serving in the school.

2) Change. As a volunteer, I get to a birds-eye view into change at these levels. I get to see students making progress. In the case of Lincoln, I have seen the entire culture of a school change in a short time (more a testimony to the people there not me).

3) Focus. Volunteering provides me to give a small amount of time to affect long term change. My small investments are like throwing money in an interest bearing account for a long time. The longer the investment, the richer the return. Serving children in elementary school may position me to be a part of something bigger down the road in their lives.

I closed by thanking the volunteers and urging people to share their story so that others can volunteer and know these rich benefits.

If you’re not involved serving the community in some way, why not consider partnering with YouthFriends to make a difference.

Here’s my column from a recent YouthFriends newsletter:

YouthFriends Guest Columnist, Phil Auxier, shares his 1st day experience at Lincoln Elementary:

On Thursday, April 28, I showed up at Lincoln Elementary for my first WatchDOG experience through YouthFriends. If you’re not familiar with WatchDOG, it is a program that encourages men, in particular, to be active role models by volunteering in schools. My day did not disappoint. Some things that stood out to me included: the support extended to me by YouthFriends staff. Everything YouthFriends did to prepare me proved so helpful and they offered encouragement to me all along the way as I “stepped out into the unknown” of my volunteering. I was also struck by the vision of Pam Bevin, principal at Lincoln. She was there to greet me, orient me to the life of Lincoln, and had a day
full of a variety of opportunities to interact with students. I also got to spend time with the teachers and staff of Lincoln who labor very hard to serve the needs of students. I mentioned to some how their difficult, selfless service was very inspiring to see. Finally, I saw students who definitely need the WatchDOG program. They responded by opening up their lives to me, which encouraged me to work hard to serve them.

Why would I recommend this? How does it help? Well, on one level, serving in this way moves us from the “air war” to the “ground war.” Instead of talking and giving opinions on what is best for our schools, by getting involved, I’m able to see what students actually need. And, the need is very great. Our children continue to need male role models. What would be the effect if students were in consistent
engagement with other positive role models in our community? We would see change, I believe. Finally, I would recommend this, because it’s easy. Everyone made my experience something that was natural and easy to do. You can do this. All I had to give was my time. The children reached out to me and I was inspired to give back to them. I believe you’ll find the same to be true for you. Benjamin Franklin said, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” This is what we want to see in the lives of our children. Therefore, let’s step out to be involved in ways that will move us towards true change.

Phil Auxier
Pastor, Crestview Bible Church

Some other links of relevance to Lincoln Elementary:
Upcoming Staff Changes
Lincoln Reorganization
Other Links from Hutch News
Dan Deming’s Column in Hutch News (a more “conflictual” interpretation)

YouthFriends…(My Story)

WatchD.O.G.S. at Lincoln Elementary…