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Greetings!
I can't believe summer has already come to an end! It was a busy and exciting one for us at Teen Parents. As the summer ends and we head into a new year, please keep all our young moms and dads in your prayers as they juggle school, work, and raising their little ones.
For the Sake of the Kids,
Renee Morales
Program Director, Teen Parents of Lubbock
Youth for Christ/USA
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teenMoMs Speak...
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One of the values that we hold at Teen Parents is that every
circumstance, every situation - even those that are painful and difficult - can
be used to help another person.
Being a teenager is tough.
Being a pregnant and parenting teenager can be almost overwhelming. If teenagers knew how hard it is to be
both, maybe they would make a different decision when faced with the "do I . .
. don't I" choice of becoming sexually active and risking a teen pregnancy.
This fall I will be training a small group of teen moms to become peer educators and be able to share their stories with other teens. We hope to have speaking opportunities at schools, youth groups, and youth organizations where the girls will share openly and honestly the challenges they face as young moms. Please pray for this brave group of girls who desire to make a difference in the lives of their peers through the teenMoMs speak program.
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Needs This Month:
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We have several big needs this month at Teen Parents of Lubbock. Please consider how you, your church, business, service organization, Bible study, or school might help meet one of these needs.
* VOLUNTEERS: We currently have a waiting list of young parents wanting to be involved in the Teen Parents program because of a lack of volunteers. Areas of greatest need are childcare volunteers and Mentor Moms & Dads. Please see the qualifications below and if interested contact Renee Morales at 535-5486 or renee@yfclubbock.org
Childcare Volunteers - Must be at least 18 years old, fill out an application and consent to a background check, and meet with program director, Renee Morales for a one-on-one interview.
Mentor Moms/Dads - We are looking for dedicated Christian moms and dads who want to lead and mentor a small group of teen parents. Must be at least 25 years old, agree with our statement of faith, fill out an application and consent to a background check, attend a volunteer training and one-on-one interview with program director, Renee Morales.
* DIAPERS AND WIPES: This is a never-ending need at Teen Parents of Lubbock! Our young parents earn diapers and wipes for attending our program and accomplishing goals. With 30 + teens attending regularly, we go through diapers and wipes very quickly. Please consider holding a diaper drive or collecting diapers from any groups you are involved with to help meet this need. Currently, the cheapest and most effective diapers we have found are the Target brand. We need sizes ranging from Newborn-5.
(Check out www.diapersatthedoor.com for a quick and easy way to donate diapers to us!)
* BABY SHOWER SPONSORS: We are combining our fall and winter baby showers and will be holding it on October 24th. We have 7 girls due between now and January who will be attending this baby shower. These
young moms are choosing to give their babies life even though it means
giving up much of their own life as a teenager to raise them. At our
baby showers we are celebrating these precious new lives as well as
providing our young moms with a laundry basket full of baby supplies to
get them through the first couple months. Each basket costs approximately $100 to fill. If you or your group would like to fill a basket for a young mom or would like to contribute money towards a basket please contact Renee Morales at 535-5486 or renee@yfclubbock.org for more info.
* MONTHLY DONORS: We will soon be blessed with additional space in our ministry center! With this blessing also comes an increase in costs to maintain a larger area. With the upcoming birth of my 2nd child and an increase in the number of teen parents we are reaching out to, I will soon need to hire a part time staff person. Please consider joining our monthly support team that makes it possible for the Teen Parent program to exist. All donations are tax deductible and may be sent to our regional office at:
Central States YFC
PO Box 3700
Wichita, KS 67201
(please make all checks out to Youth for Christ with "Teen Parents Lubbock" in the memo line)
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Progress Report:
what we accomplished this summer!
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* Several of our teen moms and young fathers beat the statistics and graduated from high school!
* We co-hosted a youth conference with another local organization (Presbyterian Childrens Homes and Services) where several of our teens made a decision to begin or renew a relationship with Jesus Christ!
* Our 2nd Annual Golf Tournament was a success raising approximately $7,000! (several more sponsorship donations are expected to come in from the golf tournament)
* Teen Parents continued to be a place of support, encouragement, education, and hope for approximately 25 teen moms and 5 young dads throughout the summer months.
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