High School Leadership Retreat

I have mentioned quite a few times that I absolutely love my job.  I work for a non profit organization called Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference.

Our organization focuses on training youth {k-12} to recognize areas of need in their community and make a change.  We train them how to volunteer - feeding the homeless, packing emergency bags for children picked up by CPS, stocking up local food banks, drives, ect.  They raise money, they organize drives to collect items - and here is the key... they are doing it - with some assistance from us!  We are training and developing leaders.

This year, we launched clubs in our high schools.  Each of the area high schools has their own Hands4Hope club to get kids involved.  The leaders (President, VP, Treasurer, & Secretary) all came with the organization's founder and myself to our first High School Leadership retreat.

It was amazing.  Challenge courses, break out sessions with leadership training from some of the best people in their industries, and we ended with a high ropes course.  The retreat was 3 days long... and it was a blast.  I bonded with some of the coolest teenagers and watched them become a cohesive team.  Many of them didn't know each other before the camp, and after, they were their own little family! :)

{Jen is our founder, and she did the course!}

{& participated in every activity - even blind folded! Isn't she cool?}

{40 feet up!}

{you jump off and ring the bell}

{we told stories by the campfire}

I always wanted to have a career where I felt involved in the community... and I have found it :)  Jen is passionate, determined, and has the biggest heart.  I love being on her team for such a fabulous cause!!

{thank you to one of our parent volunteers, Inga, for taking some of these photos!}