Events | Teen Life

We Got This: COVID-19

by Kelly Fann | Mar 17, 2020 | Blog, Events, Parenting, Personal Development

We are living in strange times these days. But I assume you already know that.

Who would have thought, even a month ago, that a flu-like virus (aka COVID-19, aka coronavirus) could shut down such a large portion of the western AND eastern world? Big brands are closing stores to limit contagion, restaurants are closing dine-in seating, governments are imposing curfews and quarantines. Schools have “extended” spring break for various amounts of time, depending on where you live.

Someone bought up all the toilet paper.

I read this article a couple days ago and it calls this a “Pearl Harbor moment” for America. It’s an interesting analogy on a couple levels. Before Pearl Harbor, America wasn’t going to enter WWII. It didn’t affect us. Right now, every American individual, business and government is deciding on some level, “Am I in or am I out?” Pearl Harbor hurtled us toward an unknown, but it also created allies. America rallied. Men enlisted; women volunteered. Society was changed forever. And in many ways for the better.

The current pandemic is harder to define. In some ways it’s harder to identify where to be a helper because we are used to thinking individually, instead of thinking of the whole. We buy up all the toilet paper- at best, thinking if it comes down to it, we’ll offer some to our neighbor, but we have a hard time just taking what we need and leaving some for others. We think that being at low risk for the virus means it doesn’t matter if the kids go to daycare or if we go to the zoo. We have a hard time understanding why “flattening the curve” matters enough for us to socially distance. At this point, before the real crisis, we are taking a breath. And what we do next affects everyone, whether we realize it or not.

And it’s uncomfortable. Partially because it’s inconvenient. But also because social distancing doesn’t feel as concrete as volunteering. No one is getting community service hours for staying home and limiting contact with people.

It’s a hard concept. But staying home is the selfless thing to do. Ask any of my Italian friends. (This video is a great snapshot of what they are saying.)

It’s also an opportunity.

It unites us.

We are all in the same boat. Italy, France, Norway, China, South Korea, the United States…parents, teens, toddlers, infants. We are socially distanced, but in many ways, we are more connected than ever. We are allied in experience and emotion, and for the first time in history we are able to personally witness that experience and emotion and to participate together. Seriously, when was the last time mega corporations kept stores closed for the greater good?!

Stay home, but take advantage of your time to emotionally connect.

Play board games with your kids.
Use some of these non-COVID related questions to spur dinner conversations with your family.
Eat meals together!
FaceTime your parents.
Send cards to people in nursing homes.
Sit on your front porch and talk to your neighbor (sitting on their own front porch).
Call your friend you haven’t seen in a while.
Maybe make a friend who is quarantined in another country. I bet they’d love to practice their English.
Use the situation to teach teens to toddlers about why what we do affects the people around us.
Maybe we’ll find a solution to the digital divide for teens from hard places!

We probably all need a reboot and a slow motion moment together.

We got this.

Kelly Fann

Marketing Assistant

Kelly has lived in three countries and worked with teens across the world, encouraging them to pursue their passions and to be kind.

The Girl Who Could Not Lift Her Head

by Chris Robey | Apr 26, 2018 | Events, Mental Health, Support Groups

I looked around the circle of students seated around the table and saw little eyes staring back at me in anticipation. All of these students were from different parts of the world and had arrived in America as children of immigrants and refugees. None of them spoke english, and for the most part, none of them spoke the same language. Maybe it wasn’t anticipation in their eyes but more of a fascination of an english-speaking white dude like me who had no idea how to interact.

As I looked around the table, I saw one student whose eyes were not on me. In fact, we couldn’t see her eyes at all. She had her head down in her arms and didn’t speak. While all of the other students seemed excited about being in one of our Teen Life groups, she was not. She wanted nothing to do with it, or so I thought. In a lot of other situations, I would have pressed a little harder to get her to participate. But this time I didn’t for some reason. I felt like something was going on in her life that she needed to just be in the group – on her terms.

So week after week, I would meet with this little “mini United Nations” of students, and we would muddle through trying to communicate and understand what was going on. Did I mention there were seven different languages represented in that group? So as you can imagine, the challenges were immense! And that little girl still didn’t talk.

Maybe they just enjoyed seeing me struggle. Perhaps there was some respite in the idea that a privileged white American like myself was at a disadvantage. I’m sure it was entertaining to see me try to relate to students who had either moved to America because of persecution or to find a better life. But little by little, we started understanding each other. And, little by little, that girl started to raise her head. While she didn’t participate much, every now and then, we would catch a smile.

We would do activities like “fist to five”. This one is easy – just ask someone any question and they get to answer using the numbers 0-5 to tell you how they feel about it. “Fist” is the worst (or zero) and “Five” is the best. So I could ask them, “How is school going today?”, and they had an easy way to answer – by just using their hands! More importantly, I could ask them what would have to happen to add one number to their answer. That’s where the good stuff started happening. And as the weeks went on, our little girl finally started to talk.

It turns out my little friend had endured significant emotional, sexual, and physical trauma in her life – unspeakable things had happened to her in her home country. She spoke Swahili and went by what I believe was a pseudonym. It doesn’t sound like she had much safety in her life, but she found it in our group by simply being there and listening – not being forced to do anything she didn’t want to do.

I remember the last day of group. I had a tap on my shoulder, and I turned around to a little girl who had her hair done up and a really pretty dress on. She said, “Hi Mr Chris!!” At first I didn’t know who she was. But then I realized it was my little friend from group who, just seven weeks earlier, could not bring herself to make eye contact with anyone. She was walking with confidence and seemed excited about the world she was coming into.

Later I found out she has become a leader at this little international school. She would give tours to new students and families to welcome them to this school that had made such a difference in her life.

Some of you connected with Teen Life might not fully understand the impact of what we do and how our incredible volunteers make a difference in the lives of students year after year. Stories like this abound as our groups offer safety to students who need a place for support. We are unique in this space and how we do it.

And, the demand is growing. We have new school districts in new cities contacting us asking, “How do we get these groups on our campus?” In order to fulfill these requests, we need your support. Consider donating to our spring fundraiser as we build our funding to meet the needs of our community – and to help others as well.

Giving is simple and your dollar goes a long way. Please click the link below to make a donation!

Give Now!

Chris Robey, Teen Life’s CEO, has worked with teens for over a decade and strives to help students see the best in themselves.

Teen Life in Transition

by Karlie Duke | Apr 5, 2018 | Events, Mental Health, Support Groups

With mixed feelings of sadness and gratitude, we wanted to let you know that our CEO, Ricky Lewis will be leaving Teen Life at the beginning of May. With his family, Ricky has decided to pursue an exciting ministry opportunity in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania as a Chaplain and Bible Teacher. This role will involve helping the school rewrite their program and curriculum that directs the growth of students’ spiritual lives.

“I am excited about this role because of the challenge it will provide in a new culture, the way I will be able to use the skills I have been developing the last 10 years, and the opportunity this will be for our kids to experience life on the other side of the world, literally.”

Ricky Lewis has been with Teen Life from the very beginning, starting as Program Director in 2008, then he transitioned to Executive Director and CEO. He has played a critical role in helping Teen Life grow as an organization and has shaped our curriculum and Support Groups into what they are today. While we are going to miss Ricky and his family, we wish them the best as they transition to Africa and the ministry opportunities they will continue to encounter with teenagers across the world.

In the midst of this transition, we are also excited to announce that the Board of Directors has named Chris Robey as the new CEO of Teen Life. Chris joined us in 2012 as Program Director, and transitioned to COO in 2017. In 2001, he graduated from Midwestern State University with his Bachelors Degree. After this, he served as a youth minister in Vernon and Granbury, TX while earning his Masters Degree in Family Life Education from Lubbock Christian University in 2010. All of Chris’ experience and education has helped him to better equip Teen Life’s work with teenagers and families.

“I am thrilled to serve as the new CEO of Teen Life! Ever since I began as Program Director almost six years ago, it has always been about our work and mission in the schools we serve. I look forward to more students being served by our amazing facilitators through our Support Groups. Teenagers and schools are being equipped, encouraged and empowered through a program that is getting better and better every year. Our future is bright, and I’m glad you are a part of it!”

In addition to Chris’ new role in Teen Life, Karlie Duke will take on the new role of Marketing and Development Director for Teen Life. She will continue to oversee Teen Life’s communications while also assisting Chris with fundraising events and opportunities. We are also excited that Beth Nichols will be transitioning to a full-time role as Teen Life’s Program Director starting June 1, 2018. She has been instrumental in developing our Support Group program and equipping our volunteer facilitators, especially during this time of transition. We know that our school districts and facilitators are in good hands with Beth in the role of Program Director.

Exciting things are continuing to happen for Teen Life as we are looking to expand our Support Groups to Tennessee through a training in Nashville on April 17. We are thankful for your continued support as we navigate this transition, and encourage you to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

Ricky, thank you again for almost 10 years of serving teenagers through Teen Life! We are praying for your family as you continue to equip, encourage, and empower teenagers.

The Power Of Service

by Ricky Lewis | Apr 27, 2017 | Events, Mental Health, Personal Development

This past Friday night, we hosted a packing party at the Birdville High School cafeteria. It was an amazing event that is also a fundraiser for Teen Life to keep offering our programs in the schools. For this event, we asked people to reach out to friends and family to sponsor them to come and serve by packing 10,000 meals for hungry kids in our area. This went over extremely well. It was so exciting to see everyone come together to fill bags with rice and nutrients that families without food can benefit from.

We were able to capture a time-lapse video of the event that you can watch below! As I put the clips together, watching the hustle and bustle that was going on and thinking about how much effort and dedication went into making this happen, I was blown away at how it all worked together.

I am writing this blog as much for me, and us as an organization, as I am to share with you. I believe there are some valuable principles that can be seen from an event like this.

In the past, we have hosted a 5K Run/Walk. The benefits of this have been amazing. People were exercising, accomplishing a goal, being outdoors. All of these benefits helped anyone that came feel better about themselves and doing it with others helped build a stong bond. So I am not arguing that this service focused event is better, but it is different and I would recommend it if you are hoping to help people connected to your organization experience some of these benefits.

There is power in numbers. We packed 10,000 meals with around 70 people and that means over 1,600 families will receive a bag of food with 6 servings in it. These numbers are great! I am so glad that we could be a small part of providing something meaningful.
It’s not about the recognition. The people that served and the ones that will receive the meals will likely never meet, and that’s exciting to me. The fact that people would put in 3 hours of work for people they don’t know and probably never will says a lot about the human race. We care for each other even from a distance.
Modeling has huge benefits! We had around 20 elementary age kids show up to help pack meals. They were able to scoop the food, weigh it, carry it to the boxes and even tape the box. This is a big deal because it gave them the opportunity to know that the work they do is valuable. These kids packed over 600 meals with just a little help from parents. It was amazing to watch the joy they had working hard to get the job done.
We had some “firsts” at this event. It was the first time we were at a local school. It was the first time we had a current student join us. It was the first time we had an alumni from one of our groups join us. It was the first time over $50,000 was raised! These partnerships, extended relationships, increased funds, and more exposure all mean that Teen Life has more opportunities to reach teenagers and change lives.

It was a process planning this event and it is hard to believe it is already over. Thinking through all of these things gets me excited about what next year could hold.

What is an event you have attended and noticed details that help you live better? Share them with us, we always love learning from you.

Ricky Lewis is our Executive Director and has been with us since the beginning. As a father of 7, he seeks to help parents and their kids Live Life Better.

Why Empathy Matters

by Karlie Duke | Apr 20, 2017 | Events, Mental Health, Support Groups

Tomorrow is our Feed the Need Packing Party, and we are so excited to help more teenagers through the meals packed and funds raised through this fundraiser.

As we prepare for this fundraiser, I can’t help but think of the faces and stories of teenagers that I get to work with on a weekly basis. Their pain is real. Their success changes lives. Their questions are relevant. Their stories change my perspective.

You may be asking yourself, “How deep can you really go with teenagers when you only see them once a week for an hour? Do they actually share? What could they be dealing with that could rival adult problems?”

You would be shocked.

I can learn more about a teen in a one-hour Support Group meeting than many people can find out over months.

How is this possible?

Empathy.

Empathy makes all the difference in the world. In these Support Groups, we are not asking questions because we want to be nosy, tell them what they are doing wrong, or even fix their lives. We ask questions because we want to step into life with them, even when it’s hard and there is no easy fix in sight.

I absolutely love the Brené Brown video below. She expertly describes the difference between empathy and sympathy while revealing the power of showing true empathy in difficult circumstances.

When you watch the video, you can see that empathy is a powerful tool, especially when dealing with teenagers.

Just this year alone, I have had teenagers tell me about:

Broken home lives where they are forced to choose who they want to live with.
Families who encourage drug use while they are trying to stay clean.
Fathers who bring their mistress into the home while mom tries to keep the family together.
30-hour work weeks to help the family pay medical bills.
A fear of graduation because that is when they will be kicked out of their house.
Extreme racism and name calling in a work environment.

Do I have the answers to these problems? Can I come up with magic words to make the hurt go away?

Absolutely not!

But I can listen. I can tell them that I am so sorry they are having to deal with such difficult life circumstances. I can sit in a chair beside them and step into their world for an hour a week. I can give them a safe, judgement-free zone to talk about their lives and problems.

I can empathize.

I encourage you to try some of the tactics mentioned in the video and to avoid phrases like “at least.” Step into a teenager’s shoes, crawl down into the pit with them, and show that someone cares and wants to listen.

In order for us to continue to provide these Support Groups and show empathy, we have our annual fundraiser. And so I also encourage you to get involved with our fundraiser! You can donate, pray, volunteer or simply share our fundraising page with friends to raise more awareness and help us reach our goal. It is not too late to make a difference in the lives of teenagers – join us!

Karlie Duke was in one of Teen Life’s original support groups and now is our Communications Director. She is passionate about encouraging students to live better stories.

Feed the Need

by Karlie Duke | Mar 23, 2017 | Events, Mental Health

Last Summer, I wrote a post called Helping When It Hurts about what we can do in the midst of hunger and pain. It was mainly inspired by a trip I took to Haiti where I held the hands and looked into the faces of children who were hungry and in need of help. I think it is easy to think of Haitians or other starving children around the world when we think of hunger. However, hunger does not just exist in third-world countries. Hunger is in your neighborhood, your kid’s school, on the end of your pew in church. Don’t believe me? According to Voly.org:

In Texas 1 in 4 children (1.8 million) are hungry or at risk of hunger—the 2nd highest number of food insecure children among all 50 states.
Tarrant County is one of 19 counties in the nation with more than 100,000 food-insecure children.
Texas ranks as the third highest state in household food insecurity.

I don’t know about you, but those statistics are shocking to me!

That is why Teen Life is changing up its annual #TL5K for a Feed the Need event! Instead of holding a 5K walk/run, our Spring Fundraiser will end with a Packing Party on April 21st where our fundraisers and volunteers will get together to assemble 10,000 meals that will be distributed to hungry students in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

We meet with students every week who have hard home-lives, who work overtime to make extra money to support their families, who need just a little extra help. We are so excited about the opportunity to not only equip, encourage and empower teenagers through Support Groups, but to also provide teens with the physical resources they need.

But how can you help? We would love for you to join us in our efforts to change teenagers’ lives by partnering with us in one (or more!) of the following ways:

You can fundraise.

This fundraiser is different from most other fundraisers. People do not pay to be a part of an event; instead, people sign up to be fundraisers and ask friends and family to sponsor them for the Feed the Need Event. It is pretty simple! As a fundraiser, you will have a personal link that you can text, email or post about. We have found that people are eager to give to a cause that you and they believe in.

If you would like to sign up to become a fundraiser and join us at our Packing Party Celebration on April 21st, go to this link and click “Become a Fundraiser.” You can sign up at any point and start making a difference by raising funds to help teenagers!

You can sponsor.

We are also looking for corporate sponsors to partner with us and make this event one to remember! We have a Corporate Sponsorship Packet that you can look over and choose the level that works best for you. We love our business partners and especially love the way they invest in our students and community.

If you would like to be a sponsor, you can either give online here or mail a check to our office at 2501 W. Southlake Blvd., Southlake, TX 76092.

You can pray.

We need people to be in prayer for this event, the students who will receive the meals they pack, and the future students who will experience Support Groups because of the money raised over the next month. We have a prayer team that receives specific prayer requests and meets to pray over the direction of Teen Life and the lives that are reached because of the generous people who support us.

To join our Feed the Need Prayer Team, you can email me! I will make sure you start getting our Prayer Team Updates.

So, what do you think? How will you join our efforts to equip, encourage and empower teenagers?