What does building strong, young lives mean to you?

​​In the ever-changing world of COVID-19, SouthSide Youth Outreach has done our best to keep pivoting with the pressing needs in our community. When it became apparent that school would not follow a traditional model this year, we determined to find a way to fill the gap. Our Program Manager, Anna Jennings, worked tirelessly to establish us as a fully certified childcare so we could provide a place for families in this new world of online distance learning. 

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​Thankfully, we are happy to announce that we have successfully launched a completely new program: RISE Child Care! We are thankful for the opportunity to continue supporting our community in Corvallis. This is a new step for us. Making the decision to scale back and start something new was done intentionally so we could continue to build strong, young lives. 

​With so much changing, we have found that for ourselves and for our community, that at new crossroads it’s wise to take a step back and analyze the how and why of where we choose to go next. For us, a habitual practice is evaluating our next steps through the lens of our mission, vision and core values. We have found that in a year that continues to change quickly with new challenges and issues, that getting lost in problems would be an easy pitfall if we had not anchored ourselves in our values and goals. 

​Therefore, to remind ourselves and encourage our readers of the goals at hand and where we feel like God is leading us in this crazy time, we turned to some of our board members and asked them an important question we hope will inspire us all! Being that our board is a crucial force of talented men and women, we felt that learning more about their hearts for SouthSide Youth Outreach would be a great way to remind ourselves of the wisdom and direction they bring to our organization while we refocus on where God is taking us. 

So, we asked them: What does building strong, young lives mean to you?

Barb Pearson, Board President and member since 2008 

"Building strong young lives means taking into consideration the entirety of the person. It means building children up with healthy food offerings and opportunities to physically play hard. It addresses a child's educational needs supporting what they are learning at school and teaching them what wise choices look like.  It is recognizing that each person has a soul yearning to be known and loved. It is melding all of these into the activities and opportunities we offer the children in our care at SSYO."

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​Chris Giggy, Board Member since 2010 and currently serving as Board Secretary:
 
“As a Board member, I want to see SSYO flourish so ALL the children in our community can grow up happy, healthy emotionally & physically, and educated”
 

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​Justin Talbert, Board Member since 2017 and currently serving as Board Treasurer:
 
“There are many good efforts going on in the world, but few are as important as investing in youth. The quality of life in childhood, namely the relationships and resources available to you, have some of the biggest impacts on your future. Whether its educational challenges, trauma, or behavioral challenges, any of these things can easily derail people from truly thriving in their adult lives. I take joy and pride in being a part of the team here trying to make a real difference for our community”

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​Becca Deeds, Board Member since 2016 
 
“To me the slogan 'Building Strong Young Lives so our Community can Thrive' plays perfectly with the overall mission of SSYO. It is about investing in the lives of kids by providing a safe, nurturing, positive, growth environment where kids are set up for a successful future. It provides stability and life skills to break the chains of addiction seen in the community. There is also a lot of behind the scenes prayer that goes out for each of the kids and their family”

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​Mel Glubrect, Board Member since 2020 
 
“Every parent can use help in raising their kids. SSYO can support those kids in learning responsibility and respect for others. If the kids come away from there with those tools the community benefits”

After reading those responses, we were reminded that despite the challenges, quick changes, and new directions we have a solid community guiding, providing insight and encouraging us to keep going. As Autumn arrives this year, we pray that you have the same encouragements!

                        -With love from all of us at SouthSide Youth Outreach

Jessica Mathias-Henderson

Is the Development Coordinator for Southside Youth Outreach. She loves Jesus, exploring with her husband, and reading poetry over a hot cup of tea. 

To contact her, you can email her at Jessica.h@ssyocorvallis.org