wfn.org | Youth Venture in Portland

[Beth Hawn]

Microsoft Mail v3.0 (MAPI 1.0 Transport) IPM.Microsoft Mail.Note
To:  Worldwide Faith News
Date: 1998-07-22 13:14
Priority: 3
Message ID: 4F54EF4D5621D211AAB0006008075ABF
Conversation ID: Youth Venture in Portland

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July 22, 1998
Mennonite Board of Missions
Beth Hawn
219-294-7523
<NEWS@MBM.org>

10 teens volunteer with Youth Venture in Portland, Ore.

ELKHART, Ind. (GCMC/MBM) - Ten young people from all over the United   
States
participated July 12-19 with a Youth Venture group in  Portland, Ore.

Participants included James Lowell Delp of Hatfield, Pa.; Lauren Ann   
Givler
of Newark, Del.; Chantel Lyn Gryseels of Lake Jackson, Texas; Jessie   
Sarah
Kitchen of Millersburg, Pa.; Cristin Joy Lambert of Grottoes, Va.;   
Michelle
Louise Lauver of Millersburg, Pa.; Megan Suzanne Luginbill of Pandora,
Ohio; Kristin Nicole Meyn of Bristol, Ind.; Tammi Jo Reynolds of Wauseon
Ohio; and Laura Jean Waidelich of Wauseon, Ohio.

Youth Venture is a joint program of Mennonite Board of Missions of the
Mennonite Church and the Commission on Home Ministries of the General
Conference Mennonite Church.

The Portland, Ore., project combined fun, work and learning in an urban
setting. Volunteers worked in small groups with an adult leader at   
various
social-service agencies. Experiences included serving at a soup kitchen,
working at a homeless shelter, weatherizing homes for low-income   
residents,
sorting food at a food bank, doing carpentry or painting at a housing   
program,
and visiting with elderly persons at a meal site. Volunteers worked in at   
least
 three different sites during the week. Each evening included a   
recreational
activity and a reflection time to process the day's experiences with the   
group.
The week also included a hike to see waterfalls and sights in the   
Columbia
River Gorge and a trip to the Oregon coast.

Since Youth Venture was founded in 1985, more than 700 young adults   
between
the ages of 14 and 20 have participated in assignments ranging from
construction, yard work and home repair to Bible-school, recreational
and community programs. Each assignment provides the volunteers with
an orientation to the local culture, a work project and interaction with   
local
people.  Volunteers may work at various project sites within the assigned   

location.

Youth Venture offers both North American and international service
opportunities. North American missions include Markham, Ont.; Montreal;
Portland, Ore.; Seattle; and Toronto. International locations include
Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Bogot , Colombia.

* * *

MBM staff