Today is the big day.
We're having our grand opening of the new building for the drop-in.
Tonight at 7pm, I'm excited and nervous.
What is it that I do, exactly?
Good question, I do recall in a recent blog saying that I should tell the story of how
I got this job. Now is as good a time as any.
So here goes,
Just after I had Rebecca (she was about 5 months old) I got a call from the principal of the school where I had just worked. She was now at a new school that had a drop-in program and they were looking for someone to relieve the co-ordinator on odd nights, and was I interested? So, I prayed about it and immediately got excited, even though I had wanted to stay home with Rebecca. This job was in the evening after she was in bed so I wouldn't miss anytime with her and I could still stay in touch with youth! (Which is what I did at the high school before kids) Cool! So I said yes.
So the first year, I was a co-coordinator of the lighthouse and got to know the kids, we opened up a gym 3 nights a week and just let teens come and hang out. It was fun.
Then, the other co-ordinator got a teaching job and quit so I was offered the job. I took it and hired new staff, who (co-incidentally) were all christians! So we started out first staff meeting with prayer. Our numbers (of kids) were rising and we found out we were one of the most successful sites in Manitoba! It was very encouraging.
Then, the community club next to the junior high we operate out of , offered us a building that they used only 2 weeks out of the year as an outdoor dressing room.
So I said sure, we'll take it! Then I looked at it, yikes! It was an ugly shack but it had potential. It was 1000 sq. feet so, lots of room but walls were kicked in, it was painted yellow and green (both hideous versions of those colors) and the floor was that rubber flooring stuff that stinks when it gets heated up. But it was a free building and we needed a place for non-athletic kids to just hang out as they were always in the lobby at the gym, which was not allowed.
So last September, I started with the letters for donations of paint, paint supplies etc. Canadian Tire was great to us. I started a youth committee to do the planning and work so the kids would feel like it was their project and not just my ideas. They had such great ideas, and everyone needed a title so I gave them each positions. It was so cute, these 16 year olds were running around telling people that they were "the foreman of the work party", "the president", "the interior design consultant" etc. It was so cute.
SO we got donations for the paint to fix it up, we got furniture donated and we won a money prize for the biggest site in MB so we used that to buy decorations. The students themselves put in a few weekends, painting etc to get it ready. And minus a few messy paint fights, it was fun. Then I got a call from someone who knew someone, and U of M's student association wanted to get rid of a bar, slate pool table and did we want it? Cool! So that was done.
Now after a year of work, we're finally ready to open it up to the youth of the area. I'm excited, we're having representatives from the provincial gov't, municipal gov't, school division, community club and police tonight for the ribbon cutting. I really want this to be something that the community takes a hold of, and for me, that means letting it go. Tough, but I can do it.
As long as the kids behave themselves and don't have a food fight or something, I think things should go well.
So, that's the story of how my little side job became a great adventure!
But I must fly, still have some last minute things to do before tonight.
We're having our grand opening of the new building for the drop-in.
Tonight at 7pm, I'm excited and nervous.
What is it that I do, exactly?
Good question, I do recall in a recent blog saying that I should tell the story of how
I got this job. Now is as good a time as any.
So here goes,
Just after I had Rebecca (she was about 5 months old) I got a call from the principal of the school where I had just worked. She was now at a new school that had a drop-in program and they were looking for someone to relieve the co-ordinator on odd nights, and was I interested? So, I prayed about it and immediately got excited, even though I had wanted to stay home with Rebecca. This job was in the evening after she was in bed so I wouldn't miss anytime with her and I could still stay in touch with youth! (Which is what I did at the high school before kids) Cool! So I said yes.
So the first year, I was a co-coordinator of the lighthouse and got to know the kids, we opened up a gym 3 nights a week and just let teens come and hang out. It was fun.
Then, the other co-ordinator got a teaching job and quit so I was offered the job. I took it and hired new staff, who (co-incidentally) were all christians! So we started out first staff meeting with prayer. Our numbers (of kids) were rising and we found out we were one of the most successful sites in Manitoba! It was very encouraging.
Then, the community club next to the junior high we operate out of , offered us a building that they used only 2 weeks out of the year as an outdoor dressing room.
So I said sure, we'll take it! Then I looked at it, yikes! It was an ugly shack but it had potential. It was 1000 sq. feet so, lots of room but walls were kicked in, it was painted yellow and green (both hideous versions of those colors) and the floor was that rubber flooring stuff that stinks when it gets heated up. But it was a free building and we needed a place for non-athletic kids to just hang out as they were always in the lobby at the gym, which was not allowed.
So last September, I started with the letters for donations of paint, paint supplies etc. Canadian Tire was great to us. I started a youth committee to do the planning and work so the kids would feel like it was their project and not just my ideas. They had such great ideas, and everyone needed a title so I gave them each positions. It was so cute, these 16 year olds were running around telling people that they were "the foreman of the work party", "the president", "the interior design consultant" etc. It was so cute.
SO we got donations for the paint to fix it up, we got furniture donated and we won a money prize for the biggest site in MB so we used that to buy decorations. The students themselves put in a few weekends, painting etc to get it ready. And minus a few messy paint fights, it was fun. Then I got a call from someone who knew someone, and U of M's student association wanted to get rid of a bar, slate pool table and did we want it? Cool! So that was done.
Now after a year of work, we're finally ready to open it up to the youth of the area. I'm excited, we're having representatives from the provincial gov't, municipal gov't, school division, community club and police tonight for the ribbon cutting. I really want this to be something that the community takes a hold of, and for me, that means letting it go. Tough, but I can do it.
As long as the kids behave themselves and don't have a food fight or something, I think things should go well.
So, that's the story of how my little side job became a great adventure!
But I must fly, still have some last minute things to do before tonight.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home