Dr. Kemp gives Youth Life students and families a reason to smile.

Dr. Phillip Kemp, DDS, Brentwood, Tennessee dentist at Kemp Dental, will be performing free dental care to our students and their families at YLLC-Kirkpatrick on April 21st through his Hope Smiles initiative.  Hope Smiles, a nonprofit, Christian organization, aims to “help individuals receive restorative and cosmetic dental work at little or no cost, made possible by community and private financial support, donated materials and volunteer dental professionals.”  Hope Smiles also gives dental students, soon to be dentists, the opportunity to work with his team.  Although this care will be provided, he hopes that his efforts will reflect on a focus for restoration and love of students and families.

Knowing Yolanda Shields,  CEO of Youth Life Learning Centers, for over fifteen years, first as a patient and now as a friend, Dr. Kemp saw a need among YLLC’s family members and students.  Taking notice of what our organization provides, he believes that we lead hope and change within the at-risk environments served at Youth Life.

“Dentistry is an unmet need in our country,” says Dr. Kemp. “Unfortunately, there are so many who experience pain and discomfort with no hope for relief. Hope Smiles is our small part of bringing a glimpse of hope to a situation that can often feel hopeless. …The need is so great. One of the number one reasons that kids miss school is due to dental pain. This breaks my heart and should not be the case. Also, not to be able to confidently smile significantly effects one’s self-esteem and can also prevent someone from securing employment. The name, Hope Smiles, was chosen because of just like it sounds, Hope Smiles. When someone has hope, he or she cannot help but smile. We love being able to help people smile. We love to share hope.”

When he reflects on lives changed, Dr. Kemp recalls a particular girl, who at one time struggled with an eating disorder.  She felt that God was able to pull her out of these times to find a new sense of peace and love.  Each time the girl looked in the mirror, however, she was reminded of this past struggle by the look of her teeth, which had eroded away.  After transforming her teeth, her new smile brought not only a physical healing, but also an emotional one by erasing a painful reminder.

Dr. Kemp wants to tell all of the students served at Youth Life Learning Centers to never give up and trust God in all that they do.  The staff and YLLC students and families members would like to give him a special thank you for his efforts that will not just provide smiles but a sense of restoration, hope and love.

Spring Break doesn’t mean a break from learning

Youth Life Learning Centers has had a busy Spring Break in Nashville, home to five of our centers.  Although many of their peers will be at home watching television or playing in the backyard with friends, we gave our students a chance to continue learning on their break.  Learning opportunities were provided to students in a variety of ways through field trips and service projects.

Youth Life’s students, who are in grades third or higher, were given the opportunity to attend a retreat at Bethel World Outreach in Brentwood.  On this Spring Break retreat, students participated in sessions focused on identify, purpose, abstinence & purity (with older group only), service, and intimacy with Christ.

YLLC-West took their Spring Break adventures to new learning levels at The Adventure Science Center when the museum donated tickets for the kids to attend.  Students made their way through the Cyberchase exhibit, which is based on the math mystery cartoon, Cyberchase from the Emmy award-winning PBS KIDS GO!  Students exclaimed, “This is fun!” while learning from “the control central,” “the grim wreaked,” “poddleville,” and many other activities.

YLLC-Easley students went to Grocer’s Edgehill to encourage 2012 voters with flyer registrations.  This allowed students to serve their community in a unique way by encouraging their community’s voice, no matter their views, to be heard.

Several YLLC-Riverchase students are apart of the Backyard Leadership team and were able to visit The Frist Center for Visual Arts on a Backyard field trip.  These students also did several projects at their site, including bead art.

Visit our  Facebook page to see more pictures from our 2012 Spring Break!

Every Nation Ministries renovates YLLC-West!

Every once in a while, our sites need a small makeover.  After realizing that our YLLC-West center needed a little maintenance, Every Nations Ministries, connected to Bethel World Outreach in Franklin, reached out to lend a helping hand.  They spent their morning doing renovations, updating information, and organizing materials at the center.

You don’t have to tutor a student from a D to an A to be a great volunteer.  Having a clean, updated facility where kids can be comfortable is also very important.  Students get excited to visit our center, and is oftentimes seems as though a second home to continual students.

Many of our volunteers find out about our cause and our services through Every Nations.  The students, teachers, and staff of Youth Life Learning Centers would like to thank Every Nations Ministries and Bethel World Outreach in Franklin for their on-going support and providing us with many new and old volunteers.

For more pictures from Every Nations Ministries volunteer day, visit our Facebook page.

Bethel World Outreach Center in Brentwood helps prepare Youth Life for 2011 – 2012 school year.

Members of the two young adult life groups at Bethel World Outreach in Brentwood came to YLLC Hillside for a different type of bible study.  Instead of meeting in their typical location, these young life groups helped clean up and organize one of our centers to help prepare Youth Life for the upcoming 2011 – 2012 school year.

I just wanted my life group to get outside themselves and serve our negorbors, this city, practically. Hoping that our actions would mirror Christ’s and deepen the truth we speak and believe. You can’t touch the city without touching the city. – Joshua Jamison

With school starting next week, Youth Life needs your help, too.  Get your church group together for a volunteer opportunity at one of our centers.  The possibilities are endless.  Here are some of the many ways you can get your group involved:

• Host a “Fun Friday”
• Host a “Read Day”
• Get your group to become pen pals to kids
• Start a “School Supplies Drive”

We’d like to thank the two young adult life groups from Bethel World Outreach Center in Brentwood for volunteering with us.  We look forward to the new church groups to come in the 2011 – 2012 school year.

For additional pictures this volunteer session visit our Facebook page.