Youth Roll

Youth Group Game ? A Fun Game for Church, Scout, & Youth Ministry Groups

Are you a leader or pastor of a Church Group or Youth Group? Are you in charge of the Youth Ministry for your congregation? Perhaps you are a Scout Leader or Summer Camp Instructor? No matter what group or organization you are part of, are you looking for a fun, interactive game that the youth can play and enjoy? Below is one of many extremely fun group games that everyone will love. It is called “Bottom Ball” – and as the name suggests, it is not necessarily a religious game or a Christian game if you will, but it is certainly a lot of fun, and Church Groups, Scout Groups, Youth Groups – or any group – will enjoy playing this fun game!

4 or more

Balloons, 4 chairs, Yarn

In preparation, set up the playing field by placing two chairs about 20 feet away from each. Take a long piece of string (or yarn) and tie one end to the top of one chair, and the other end of the string to the top of the other chair. The string is the net for the game, thus it needs to be tight and about 3 feet high off the ground. Now place the other two chairs perpendicular to the first two, also 20 feet apart, and also tie a string between those two chairs as well. The two strings will thus be intersecting in the air, and will form 4 different sections between the chairs. Divide everyone playing into pairs, and 4 pairs will begin the game by having one pair sitting in each of the 4 sections. Each player has to sit on their bottom, and remain on their bottom throughout the game.

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At “go,” about 6 balloons will be thrown into the middle of the playing area (between the 4 chairs, into any section). Each pair is simply trying to prevent the balloons from falling into their section and hitting the ground. Players will both protect their section by preventing balloons from hitting the ground, and try to offensively hit balloons and make them land in other pair’s sections. In this game, points are not good – and a point is scored if a player’s bottom leaves the ground or a balloon lands in their section. It may be necessary to have an independent judge (perhaps for each pair) who will watch and count how many points each pair gets.

These 4 pairs will play for 3 minutes, and the pair that has the least amount of points at the end of the round (3 minutes) will receive a point. This is a good point! If there are more than 4 pairs playing, have them rotate in and replace the pairs who lost. The first pair to win 5 rounds is the winner!

Source: ArticlesBase.com

Summer Youth Employment Program is a Win-Win

October 2009   If you want to know how intractable the unemployment problem is in Detroit, talk to any group of 18 – 24-year-olds and you’ll be amazed at how few have ever had a summer job.

That’s why McDonald’s owner and operator, Jamar Thrower, decided that the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) was an opportunity he couldn’t refuse. 

” said the owner of Jamjomar, Inc.  
Thrower is one of dozens of for-profit employers who participated in SYEP this summer. The Detroit program, which serves an average of 2,500 youth each year, received an injection of .2 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act this summer. The federal money helped increase the scope of the program to serve about 7,000 youth ages 14 – 24. 
 

With the drastic increase in the number of youth served, City Connect Detroit, acting on behalf of the Detroit Youth Employment Consortium, decided to enlist the help of the business community in addition to the traditional non-profit supporters of the summer program. It was not an easy sell. 
said City Connect Detroit CEO Geneva J. Williams.
Thrower employed 13 youth in his two Detroit stores. said Thrower, who trained his SYEP youth in all aspects of running his business.

C. has a bad temper-one that landed her in front of a judge earlier this year after the 20-year-old stabbed someone in a fight. The judge gave the first-time offender a choice: Go on probation and get a job, or go to jail.
 
she said.  
C. ended up in SYEP doing conservation work with the Greening of Detroit.   she said while composting at Elizabeth Gordon Sachs Park near downtown Detroit.  
The biggest lesson she’s learned is how to stay to herself. she said.  

Exposing youth to environmental issues, plus giving them chance to learn the value of hard work is exactly why Johnson Controls, a member of the Detroit Youth Employment Consortium, got involved with SYEP.
 
In 2006, the Milwaukee-based company began its Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC) to teach urban youth environmental stewardship and leadership. The program has since expanded to two other cities where the company has operations: Baltimore and Detroit.

said Jennifer Mattes, director of global public affairs.
In partnership with the national Student Conservation Association and the Greening of Detroit, the CLC was able to give Detroit youth a taste of the green job industry, including educating city residents about energy efficiency; weatherizing and energy auditing 75 homes in Detroit; designing and building an outdoor classroom and indoor environmental lab at Barbara Jordan Elementary School; conducting an extensive tree inventory; and reclaiming two green picnic shelters on Belle Isle using alternative building materials and practices.
 
Why did Johnson Controls get involved with summer youth programs?
 
said Mattes. (For a list of other funders of the Detroit Conservation Leadership Corps, see below.*)

The program also helped Johnson Controls develop a relationship with state and local leaders. said Mattes.  
Mattes said that SYEP is a win-win for the business community. she said.  
* Johnson Controls is the founding sponsor of the Conservation Leadership Corps. Additional support was provided by: Chase; the City of Detroit Community Development Block Grant and Neighborhood Opportunity Fund; The City of Detroit Workforce Development Department; City Connect Detroit; the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth; Michigan Works! Association; Masco Corporation Foundation; SAP Americas; and the Walmart Foundation. 

Source: ArticlesBase.com