Priority 2: Fun

     Every time that the Joel's Place staff meets together to talk over our programs or vision for the future, there is one certainty.  Kelli, our Program Director, will interject that Fun needs to be a priority.  Literally, every time.  So I thought I would turn over this post on our second priority to Kelli.  Last week we talked about Safety as the foundation for everything that we do here.  Once kids know that this is a place that they can be themselves without fear, they are open to having a great time.  Here I turn it over to Kelli:


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Recently, a parent mentioned how she enjoyed the mellow music we played through the speaker system, and how it must be a ploy to help keep the kids calm. I replied that what she heard was probably an accident, and sure enough, it wasn’t long before some very loud, very fast music took over the space. I later explained that we actually want the kids to be excited and we use the music to keep them pumped. There are many hours in young people’s lives when they are expected to sit down, stay quiet and calm.

We are the remedy for calm, and that remedy is called FUN.

Of course, fun means very different things to different people. For some, it’s biking, skating, or scootering in the park. For some it’s playing Ping-Pong, pool or video games, and for some it’s getting balls hurled at their face and hurling them in return. Oh, I mean Dodge Ball  –  my precise definition of “not fun”.  But one particular kid here is a "Dodge Ball Ninja" He is always the last one out.  To him and his frustrated opponents, it’s just having fun. But I see a kid who experiences a lot of challenges in life, rising above his peers and experiencing success.

Even as I write this, I feel compelled to justify fun. To spin it into success stories and positive outcomes. Usually, the type of fun here does result in positive outcomes- exercise, learning how to play well, to win and lose graciously, connecting to a larger community, and a whole lot of service. But honestly, I believe in fun for fun’s sake.  It means shared memories and smiles and squeals and the knowledge that Joel’s Place is a good place for kids.

                    

Priority 1: Safety

     One of the first things that I did with the staff when I began working at Joel's Place was to come up with some guiding principles.  What are the core things that we are about at the youth center?  We arrived at three:  Safety, Fun and Development.  Coincidentally those will be my next three entries here on the blog.

     Safety is the top priority.  I have heard that in every job I have ever had.  And it is usually true...unless it gets in the way of the other priorities that we have.  At Joel's Place, safety has to be the first thing that we are about.  It has to.  If we have are not known far and wide as a safe place for youth to spend their time, nothing else that we do will matter.  Kids will not open up; they will keep their heads on a swivel, trying to see where the next threat is; they will come looking to start trouble before trouble finds them.  No.  No.  No and no.  Unacceptable.

     Joel's Place does not allow any alcohol or weapons on the premises.  Any smoking must be done across the street, out of visual range of the center.  Any violence will be grounds for expulsion from Joel's Place.  Anyone who smells of alcohol or drugs will not be allowed to enter.  I like to say that the only injuries that youth sustain are self-inflicted in the ride park.  The kids know all this upfront and they see us follow through and they know that they are free to be themselves without fear of being attacked.  It sounds simple but it is a powerful knowledge.  New people are met with welcome instead of suspicion.  The quirkiness of teenage boys is on full display instead of needing to be hidden behind socially appropriate masks.  There are life lessons everyday on how to deal with disagreements and anger without violence.

     Safety does not stop with who is allowed in the building and how they are allowed to talk and act.  We also have safety policies to protect the youth from themselves.

• Helmets.  I have not met a rider yet who was excited about wearing a helmet.  Riding is all about being free and expressing yourself...and we make them all wear helmets...without tearing the padding out...and they have to wear them whether they are 6 or 26.   Because they fall.  A lot.  I know they are tough.  It is not a matter of tough.  It is a matter of us, as an organization, valuing every single kid who comes through our doors and saying that we want the best for you, even if you get mad at us for it.
• Closures.  We close at 40 below.  We close when the roads are super icy, like today.  A lot of our riders are old enough to drive themselves and can not figure out why we would ever close for a stupid little thing like the weather.  Here's the thing: the roads may be fine at 3pm when you arrive.  Six hours later, after the melting stops and the freezing has begun and you need to drive back out to North Pole in the dark in your 1980's Mazda that is held together with duct tape (or whatever 1st car you drive) with your three teenage friends crammed into the back seat laughing and yelling for the whole trip...that is not a safe situation.  Sometimes it is just safer to stay at home.

     Safety is not a fun topic.  There are not a lot of inspirational stories that spring from people being mindful of risk management.  However all of the other great things that we do have to be based on a foundation of safety.  If they are not, disaster falls into the category of "When" not "If" and the series of close calls chips away at the confidence and enthusiasm of the staff.

Thank you to everyone who helps keep the youth at Joel's Place safe.  I am deeply appreciative.

Growing Pains

     I have three children:

• The 11 year old boy who just got braces, loves legos and is learning to play the saxaphone.
• The 8 year old girl who exemplifies "Type A," adores animals and wants to be 7 different things when she grows up.
• The 1 year old girl who has an amazing smile, walks like a champ and calls everything "Da."

They are all remarkable children who are brilliant and funny and have soft hearts.  As I am getting ready to have my eldest become a teenager, I can honestly look back over the past twelve years and say, "There has not been a single easy year."  Not one. 

     Don't get me wrong...they have been joyful and wonderful.  But not easy.  And I can't imagine moving into the drama and angst of the teenage years will make life any easier.  I look at each child, at each stage of their development, and I am amazed that there are always growing pains.

     The Baby has her molars coming in.  The red and swollen gums are accompanied by constant gnawing, crying and lack of sleep.  But even as we navigate that pain, we also have to deal with bumps and bruises that come because the little legs couldn't change direction in time and so she ran into a wall.  Or there is the frustration that she can't communicate beyond pointing and "Da da da da DA!"  The older ones have to navigate academic angst and body development angst as well as try to figure out this whole social interaction thing, not to mention who is God and what is Faith and why do we go to Church.  They collapse into their beds every night, exhausted yet unable to sleep because their mind is racing or their body is aching and they are not sure how to make either one stop.

     Parenting kids is hard.  The big issues (and there are lots of them) can easily get lost in the mundane repetition of daily life.  My children are shocked and offended that I want them to comb their hair again this week.  And why do they have to put away clothes when they are just going to wear them again?

     I bring all these up not to be discouraging, but rather to say that we as parents cannot be waiting for the easy times in order to enjoy and celebrate our family.  The growing pains will always be there.  But hidden just beneath the surface of those pains lies the wonder and the joy and the laughter.  It is vital for the sanity of the parents and they health of the kids that we dig for those things together in order to be thankful for all of the moments that we get to spend together as a family.  It is not easy...but it is good.

     I have been thinking about this as it relates to Joel's Place.  I keep looking for the easy times.  The times when the money is flowing and the youth are pouring through the doors and the staff are happy and the building has no impending catastrophe and the Board is thriving and...and I keep looking.  There have been no easy months during my time in this job.  Joyful, yes.  Wonderful, yes.  Easy, no.  Part of my motivation in writing this blog is to highlight the treasure that lies under the challenge.  It is a way to embrace sanity for myself and offer encouragement for the staff, youth and partners that we have.  When I am confronted with different crises throughout the week I remember that they are not omens of doom.  They are growing pains.  And you don't get growing pains if you are not in the process of maturing.

     Maturity...maybe that's when life gets easy.

Sitting at the Front Desk

     We are a little short staffed today...when I say a little, I mean over half of our employees are either sick or traveling today. Everyone who is actually working today has to do a little bit more: answering phones, cleaning up trash and the like.  I, for example, am working the front desk tonight and cooking dinner in the cafe tomorrow. 

     The Front Desk is affectionately referred to as the Fish Bowl.  It is a small room filled with snacks, toys and paperwork with windows on over half the wall space.  It is the job in Joel's Place that it is easiest to waste time in and get away with it.  There are a number of projects to work on in the Fish Bowl, but it is a job that is based on interruption.  You answer the phone, you check in guests when they arrive, sell snacks, check out gaming equipment and talk to kids who are just wanting to hang out.  I had to stop writing this paragraph 4 times in order to get something for someone.  It is a guarantee that as soon as you start a project, you will be interrupted.

     I hate being interrupted.  I would rather wait until the building is empty and stay late to write a proposal than have to stop and resume the project multiple times.  I just get grumpy because I have important work to do and teenage boys can't figure out whether they want a Hershey's bar with almonds or plain.  Drives me crazy.  Or they want to talk about their football injuries or their cell phone plan or their cars...good Lord, the amount of my life I have spent listening to stories about teenage boys' cars.  Did I mention that I have important work that I have to get done?  It is easy for me to get upset that I am wasting my time...

     Then I remind myself to take a step back.

     Way back.

     (FYI, I was just interrupted 5 times trying to get to this next paragraph)

     I remember that youth are not the interruptions in my job, they are the reason for my job.  All of the paperwork and grants and reports and fundraising and staff evaluations and balance sheets...all of it is for the express purpose of giving these young men and women a place where they belong and can be built up instead of torn down.  I remember that mentoring young people involves a lot of pure, dumb time.  Time spent listening or eating or laughing or skating.  Time where trust is built and opportunities for sharing are invited, not required.  Time where my character is visible and the youth decide whether I am worthy of their investment.  This is the real work of Joel's Place.  It is the work that looks the simplest yet carries the most significance.  It is the reason that I need staff of high character, deep patience, authentic joy and great faith.  I do all my work so that they are freed up to do theirs. 

     When I spend all my time up in my office or going out to fundraise, this is an easy reality to forget.  So I occasionally sit at the front desk.  And I get interrupted.  And I find that the pure, dumb time of building the kingdom of God also builds my heart little by little.

     Tomorrow comes the kitchen...but that's a different story.

New Year, New Opportunities

     I hope everyone had a joyful holiday season.  I would have said "restful" but if your past couple of weeks were anything like mine, there was not a lot of rest involved.  Between the flu sweeping through my family for Christmas, family visits, special programs and dinners, a teething baby and school-age kids who are getting a little restless...there has not been a lot of down time.  Lots of joy, just not a lot of rest.  I will count it as a win, but I am ready to move into the new year.

     2014 holds a lot of promise for Joel's Place.  The staff and the Board are eager to move forward and see what God has in store for us.  I just finished a grant that will hopefully bring another staff onboard to help me work on grants and fund development.  We have a number of teachers ready to bring their classes over for field trips.

     On the financial side of the operation, we ended 2013 in the black.  We are so blessed and grateful to everyone who partnered with us throughout this past year.  We still have some long term debt that we are working to retire, but that is easier to handle when the day to day operations have enough money to sustain them.  Towards that end we are enrolled in a couple of programs that make giving to Joel's Place really easy.


Pick.Click.Give.
     The Permanent Fund Dividend application process is now open and over 40,000 people have already signed up.  The expectation is that this years dividend will be higher than the past several years; the hope is that this year's may double last year's.  When you sign up for the PFD there is a green button on the website for Pick.Click.Give.  When you select it, you are given the choice of giving part of your dividend towards the non-profit of your choice...like Joel's Place.  You can edit your choices through August 17th, so you don't have to make up your minds yet, but I would encourage you to join with me in generously giving to Joel's Place through this amazing program.


Fred Meyer Rewards Program
     The Fred Meyer Foundation is changing its giving structure.  Instead of having its generous donations decided by a small selection committee, it is linking charitable giving to the Fred Meyer Rewards cards.  Here's how it works:  After January 6th, anyone with a Rewards card can go to this link and link their rewards card to one non-profit organization...like Joel's Place.  It costs no money and does not take away from any of the other points or benefits of the program.  Purchases are linked to Joel's Place and tallied.  Each quarter Fred Meyer gives out a certain amount of money in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska.  The higher our tally, the greater the percentage of that money we will receive each quarter.  I don't know how much money we are looking at with this program, but it seems like a low cost way to bring in unrestricted revenue.  When signing up our Organization number is 84078.  I will keep you updated.

Again, thank you to everyone who has supported us this past year.  We had 816 individual youth visit us this year with hundreds of meals served and thousands of kid hours logged.  Joel's Place truly is a community endeavor and we deeply appreciate each one of you who gives of your time, money and resources.  May you have a blessed and joyful 2014.