Danielle Wright has an eager curiosity for learning

Sometimes there is a student who is always seeking, wondering, and exuding a very curious nature.  This student will typically go out of their way to uncover an unresolved answer and will crave more information.  He or she simply loves the art of learning and will never stop seeking understanding.  For YLLC-Hillside, that student is Julia Green Elementary School third-grader, Danielle Wright.  In most scenarios, you can find Danielle raising her hand to ask a question, in such a way as to put her whole body into getting that hand as high as it can go with a wide, eager grin.  Sometimes difficult to stay seated, she throws herself into learning as much as possible!  In fact, she was thrilled when Mr. Grubb donated iPads, as they have allowed her to explore new areas of learning with her great, curious spirit.

As outgoing as she is, it is no wonder that Danielle not only loves to dance and sing, but also possesses a soft, caring side shown in her desire to someday become a veterinarian.  Moreover, her YLLC teacher describes her as “polite and inquisitive.”

Danielle Wright, pictured in pink, is asking Belmont student all about nursing at "Make a Major Difference."

She makes friends easily with her outgoing personality and is always friendly toward everyone who comes to Youth Life Learning Centers.  Seemingly contagious, Danielle’s enthusiasm for learning has rubbed off on some of her YLLC-Hillside friends.  During “Make a Major Difference” last year, for example, Danielle had many questions for all of the Belmont students that came to talk about their major.  She wanted to know how things worked, what they studied, and what she would need to fill their shoes.  This allows teachers, visitors, volunteers and donors to see their influence first hand and answer any questions she may have, whether it’s homework-related or not.

Genuinely grateful for opportunities given to her, she would like to personally thank all volunteers and donors for helping her at Youth Life.  Her grades have improved with their help!

If you are not familiar with our programming, start acting like Danielle and get curious.  Sign up today to answer questions and teach students who are eager to learn.

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!

Local college students “Make a Major Difference” at YLLC

Hillside and Easley students came together to listen to local college students talk about their major and career path as well as do a short, related activity.  Before we began, we asked students what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Answers ranged from “teacher” to “policeman.”

Presentations started with Hailey Wickles, Belmont University junior and nursing major who dreams of becoming a traveling nurse or doing nursing in missions work.  Hailey taught YLLC students not only about what she studies in and outside of the classroom, but she also showed the students the importance of washing their hands using glitter!  She also shared a trick with students.  If you sing, “Happy Birthday” twice while scrubbing, you have washed your hands for a proper length of time.

William Switzer, studying music business and pre-law at Belmont University, wants to pursue a career as a musician or entertainment lawyer.  A bass player for his band, William shared with students that he has written over fifty songs!  He also taught students a little about entertainment law, such as what copyright means in a way students could understand.

Jonathan Butler, Belmont University junior and music business major, immediately put smiles on students’ faces when he brought out a bag of candy!  Jonathan, who one day wishes to own a multi-media company, asked students to act like they were filming a movie, reading a book, and recording music to demonstrate what the company would entail.  He then asked students to answer some trivia questions regarding movies, books, and music for some candy!

Lastly, we welcomed Katherine Richardson, Belmont senior and international business and social entrepreneurship major.  She wishes to someday work with entrepreneurs on creating businesses that employ people who may not otherwise be able to find jobs.  Once we taught students what entrepreneurship meant, Katherine was ready to create her own business with students.  Students gave her the idea to create a movie-watching hair and nail salon!  She separated students into two groups to represent the items that they would need, the first group being the items that would cost money for their business while the second group represented the items that would create a profit.

We’d like to welcome all of our students for making a major difference among Youth Life students.  Our hope is that you will continue to inspire kids in this community to work hard and pursue dreams.

For more pictures from “Make a Major Difference” day, visit our Facebook page.

Pajama Party Read Day for Afterschool Alliance’s “Lights On Afterschool”

Students celebrate Afterschool Alliance's initiative, "Lights on Afterschool" with a Pajama Party Read Day

YLLC students came to our centers cozy and warm in pajamas, some with their blankets and teddy bears.  That’s right.  YLLC threw a Pajama Party yesterday in celebration of Afterschool Alliance’s “Lights on Afterschool” initiative!  Students took a time off from their fall break to curl up and read a great book with their friends and enjoy some delicious pancakes.  Reading in their pajamas made reading that much more fun!

According to Afterschool Alliance, “one million Americans and more than 7,500 communities nationwide are celebrating the afterschool programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families.”

We ask that you too celebrate afterschool programming in your own way, whether it’s through a donation, dedicating yourself to volunteering with students at YLLC or a local school or simply raising awareness about this critical initiative.

For additional pictures from our Pajama Party Read Day, visit our Facebook page.

YLLC Easley students tell us what they find valuable.

There is a question that we asked YLLC Easley students.  It’s not rhetorical, but may be philosophical in spirit.  It is a scenario question that has been asked time and time again, but is not quite likely to occur.  Do you need another hint?  It is a question that may spawn images of taking a yacht out for a cruise before coming home to sports cars parked in the garage of a mansion holding closets filled with designer clothing.  It is a question that provides those that are asked the ability to dream but also to evaluate worth.  Give up?

What would you do with one million dollars?

“What would you do with one million dollars?” is a question that appears surface-level at first glance, but actually asks those answering to ponder what they find valuable and worthy of an investment or purchase.  Oftentimes those who win a million dollar lottery go into debt, because they do not spend their money wisely.  These individuals simply go wild with a dreamy vision without truly evaluating life’s most important elements.  We asked YLLC Easley to tell us what they would do with a million dollars.  Let’s see what some of them had to say:

“I’d buy my mom a house.”

“I’d buy my grandmother, my mother, and my sister a car.”

“I would put some in my, my brother’s and my sister’s college fund.”

“I would buy lots of white chocolate candy bars.”

“I would donate to charity.”

“I would help my mom pay the bills.”

Did their surprise you?  Although I’m sure many students would go wild with their wildest fantasies, many of our YLLC students did not.  Perhaps the less you have, the more you learn to understand value.  YLLC students value education and responsibility.  We’d like to think that this is much to do with our programming with a mission aiming to nurture the child, strengthen the family and rebuild the community by aiding and supporting the educational, spiritual, moral and social development of at-risk youth.  However, it could also just be that they are simply very smart kids.

$Ten for Tenn.

Donate as little as $10 each month

Whether you are supporting three children, are constantly on the move for meetings or are hoping you can go out this weekend with your friends, those of us in the volunteer state may find it nearly impossible to volunteer.  You then turn to donations.  You think to yourself, “I can’t give a major donation; I have a trip to save up for and bills to pay!”  Luckily, Youth Life has the answer!

In celebration of its tenth anniversary, Youth Life Foundation of Tennessee (YLFT) is approaching donations a little differently.  You may have noticed our Ten for Tenn. logo in our e-newsletter.  We’re making it easy for those who want to support our cause by encouraging them to donate as little as $10 each month rather than in bulk.  Because YLFT depends on donations to continue our after-school programming, you will be directly supporting our centers, and in turn, our cause.  Still not convinced $10 for Tenn. is for you?  Well, allow me to provide you with several reasons you should sign up to give!

• It’s for tight schedules.
• It’s for tight budgets. 
• It’s easy!
• You can stop at anytime.

Your $10 will go further than you think.  With your participation, we will be able to continue to serve our YLLC youth.  Click here to start donating and select monthly over the “Frequency” drop-down menu.  Make the next ten years even better and pass the word on to ten friends!  If at anytime you want to stop your donations, just contact us at Youth Life, and we will take care of it immediately.  So what are you waiting for?  Try it out for a few months and see that it doesn’t cut into your banking account at all, but that over time your donations will make a great impact on this community.

Donate for a worthy cause.  Donate for worthy at-risk youth.  Donate for education.  Donate for opportunity.  Donate for Tennessee.

Students Celebrate the Art of Life

Connye Florance with YLLC student participants

Thanks to funds from Tennessee Arts Commission, YLLC students participated in Art of Life Creative Development Workshops, art-focused educational enhancement series developed by Connye Florance, Tennessee artist and instructor. These time-constructed routines within the workshops are intended to engage students to creatively think, inspire, and express ideas in order to find his or her unique gifts.  Through the art of theater, dance, music, writing or spoken word, these performing arts experiences allow students to discover, explore and grow these unique gifts while learning useful, classroom skills such as reading, writing, creativity, teamwork, presentation and public speaking.

Students’ goals for the workshop include:

• Learn basics of plays, scenes and short stories
• Learn basics of public speaking and presentation
• Improve word recognition, reading skills and comprehension
• Learn five new vocabulary words
• Discover personal character strengths and unique gifts

We would like to thank Tennessee Arts Commission and Connye Florance for making our Art of Life Workshops possible.

For additional pictures of our Art of Life session, visit our Facebook page.

Nashville Needs an “All-Out Effort” to Reduce Crime Rate

“Black homicides reach crisis in Nashville,” an article by Brian Haas at The Tennesseean, highlighted harsh truths of our inner-city neighborhoods yesterday.

It’s easy to go back to suburbia and hide from the crime, but homicides, habitually linked to poverty, will not decrease in our city with hidden eyes.

The youth we serve are likely to be exposed to all sorts of crime, whether gang or drug related.  Filling their minds with an image of success, love and fulfillment, void of crime, is what gives them hope for something greater.

In 2008, “Tennessee had the nation’s fifth-highest rate of black homicides, according to Washington, D.C.-based Violence Policy Center,” Haas’s article states.

Youth Life Foundation of Tennessee is urging you to open your eyes to the crime in our city, and not only acknowledge it, but to also take action to fight against it.  Education may be the only gateway to bettering the lives of these young students and reducing violence in our city.  It is a necessity that we make a collective effort to help our at-risk youth.

To read Haas’s complete article, visit http://bit.ly/h4fkio.