Making A Difference

Do you watch the advertisements on television that ask you to sponsor a child in Africa or South America?  Does your heart break for the children you see?  Do you wonder how such a small contribution can change a life?

There are plenty of young people in the United States that need your support as well.  They are attending afterschool programs so they can have a safe place to be in the hours afterschool and they can also get help with their homework.  The opportunity to participate in amazing enrichment opportunities they would otherwise not have access to is a bonus.  These programs are staffed by youth workers who need training and staff development to become the most effective role model and mentor they can be.  At Entrusted Legacy we are working to provide that support for the afterschool professionals.  Investing in their development has exponential returns as they each touch multiple youth every day.  Join with others and invest today by going to our website at www.entrustedlegacy.org  There are children waiting.

5 People You Meet In Heaven

Mitch Albom wrote the book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven.  His book was transformed into a movie of the same name.  In this book, Eddie, a war veteran, feels that his life has been meaningless as he has spent his days in the dull routine of repairing the rides at a seaside amusement park.  However, when he arrives in heaven he meets five people for whom he has had a profound impact.  He also meets a large group of folks who he affected less directly than the others. 

 Have you ever wondered what 5 people you might meet in heaven—people for whom you have made a difference.  Perhaps one of them will be your own mentor and role model.  While they certainly impacted your life, you changed them as well.  Each of you recognized your own unique gifts and talents because of the connection.  We know that every young person needs and deserves a positive role model and mentor.  It is essential as we all struggle to navigate a world that is yet to be determined.  We live in a time of ambiguity and a positive role model and mentor can be the most essential part of staying grounded and on track.

Like Eddie in the story, you might also meet a large number of people that you have impacted more indirectly.  While you might not be able to be a mentor or role model for the youth directly, you can support the efforts of those who work with youth daily.  Your financial support will help Entrusted Legacy provide training and coaching for these dedicated youth workers.  We need you and the children need you.  You can make a difference in the life of a child.  Donate at www.entrustedlegacy.com.  

Best Year Yet

Here’s wishing us all the Best Year Yet in 2014.  Who could possibly object to this sentiment?  Yet to be the best year yet, there are some things you and Entrusted Legacy needs to do to be successful.  So taking the guidance of Jinny Ditzler who wrote the book, Best Year Yet, here is what we plan to do.  Check it out and see if there is anything you can apply to yourself.

Step one is to set goals:  Of course we all know that setting goals, actually writing them down, and referring to them regularly, helps to make those goals real and something you are focused on.  Setting goals allows us to “live our lives in a way that will show what really matter to us and that we are serious about accomplishing our goals.”  For 2014, Entrusted Legacy has goals to serve 30 new afterschool clients and connect them with online training 24/7/365 and 90 hours of face-to-face training spread across these 30 programs.  To accomplish this goal we have fund development and fundraising plans to ensure our success.

Once the goals are set, Ditzler says that to be successful you need to “prepare the space for the goals to flourish.”  This makes sense, so Entrusted Legacy is beginning that process by reminding ourselves of our cause, the work we do and why that work is so important for the future of youth and ultimately our country.  We believe that youth need positive role models and mentors. We believe that educating adults who work with youth will make a difference, and we believe that we can magnify that difference through the work we do to bring them training and staff development.  We believe everyone can be or support a positive role model and mentor who works with youth.  To that end, Entrusted Legacy has committed to work closely with sixteen new funders and investors who are willing to support the Entrusted Legacy Mission and Vision.

Ditzler also reminds us, ““Don’t let the weeds grow around your dreams.  Find the courage to act and face the big challenges and make your dreams come true.  Rely on your inner strength, step back from the busyness of life and pay attention to what really matters.”  She goes on to say we should all take responsibility for accomplishing our goals and simply step up and like Nike, “Just do it!”  So are taking that advice and stepping up our game.

At Entrusted Legacy we’re eager to make a difference.  Please join us and help us change the lives of youth for the better.  We can all remember that key person in our life that believed in us and helped us to be our best selves.  We are looking to support those adults.  Entrust your legacy with us and invest with us.  Contact us at www.entrustedlegacy.org or if you need more information, send your contact information to support@entrustedlegacy.org.  

Make A Difference

In the United States there is long history of philanthropy and giving.  There are so many ways that each of us can make a difference.  Whether we give of our talents, our time, our money, or our connections, we have the opportunity to change the world.  If you go back into the 1800s you can find the founding of the United Way.  In began in 1887 when a Denver woman, a priest, two ministers and a rabbi recognized the need for cooperative action to address their city’s welfare problems.  More than 125 years later, United Way is still focused on mobilizing the caring power of communities and making a difference in people’s lives.

This need to make a difference in the world has been captured often throughout our history and has inspired generations of America to be part of the solution.  In 1961 young people flocked to the Peace Corps and in 1990 Teach for America launched. In 2007 George Bush’s reference to Points of Light resulted in a non-profit foundation and in 2010, Entrusted Legacy was born.  What all these non-profits have in common is that they provide a platform for people to give back.

Learn about our story and the work that we do.  Please join with Entrusted Legacy and support our efforts to train and develop strong role models and mentors for the more than people who work with youth in afterschool and summer programs.  Check out our website at www.entrustedlegacy.org or by contacting us at support@entrustelegacy.org

Youth As Assets—A Fundamental Point of View

How do you see the young people that you know?  Do you think of them as possibilities or pains?  Maybe if you’re honest, you think of them as both.  Young people, in our opinion, can certainly be both.  Certainly they are the possibility of the person they will become and the contribution they will make to the world.  They are also the possibility of the contribution they can make in the present.  And of course, they can be a colossal pain as they challenge everything we do. 

Let’s first think about young people in a “future” state.  As they develop the skills they need to navigate the world successfully, those possibilities become closer to reality.  In the future we would like to see youth transform into young adults who realize Maslow’s Hierarchy and are safe economically, emotionally, and physically, build strong relationships with friends, family and colleagues, and accept the responsibility for giving back to the community in which they live.  If they achieve this they will be self-actualized.  Each young person has gifts and talents to be developed, and unleashing that potential is part of the work we do each day with youth.

They also have the possibility of accomplishing a great deal in the here and now.  I recently saw an interview with a young man who responded to an inventor’s challenge and designed and developed a device that would keep parents from leaving a small child or infant in the car.  During the interview the boy commented, “If I can save just one life then it will be worth it!”  This young man is not the only youth who has made a difference during youth.  Our programs can work on developing and honing skills by actually having youth utilize those skills in service and community projects.

Then of course we can’t avoid considering that youth can certainly be a pain.  One of the ways that they are best suited to demonstrate this attribute is through challenging the status quo and the “why” behind what we are doing and want them to do.  I am reminded of the story of the Christmas ham.  The girl wants to know “why” her mother cuts off the end of the ham before baking.  The mother responds that this is how her mother (the girl’s grandmother) always fixed the ham.  When the grandmother arrives for dinner she says that the girl will need to ask her great-grandmother who will arrive soon because she simply continued the procedure her mother (the great-grandmother) had used.  When the great-grandmother arrives and is asked the question about the ham she responds, “I don’t know why your mother and grandmother cut the end of the ham off, but I did it because my pan was too little.”  This story is a classic example of both the status quo (something we do simply because it is the way we’ve always done things) and the challenging that youth do which requires us to look at our own habits and procedures with a more critical eye. 

As a positive role model and mentor for youth we have the opportunity to support the view that youth are assets to be given an opportunity to shine.  Help Entrusted legacy support the training and development of youth leaders so they are well prepared to guide youth.  Contact us at support@entrustedlegacy.org or by logging on to our website at www.entrustedlegacy.org