Community members in the Gorge are endevouring to bring out the best qualities and talents of middle-school age youth in service to their communities. Called the junior youth spiritual empowerment program, it consists of a small group of friends, usually some 10 to 20 members in a neighborhood or school, who come together once a week to study materials that help the group to identify and develop the attitudes and skills people need in order to to serve their communities in a meaningful way. An older youth tutors them through the material, consults with them to help them identify service projects the group can carry out, and provides the sincere encouragement and guidance of a true friend. We call these older youth “animators” because they enliven the group by trying to bring out the best in each individual member and empowering the group to achieve noble goals.
We are looking for older youth and young adults who would be interested in collaborating with us in offering this program in the Gorge. We would train with you for this task, and help you to begin your own groups, accompanied by others.
If you think you may be interested, please contact us at 509-365-3972.