Leaving a Legacy

By Brianna Stephens

Appalachian youth often experience the hardships and challenges of life more intensely than other children. That’s because poverty is prevalent in the region, and it has a devastating impact on many families who live there. Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Youth Empowerment Services (YES) strives to empower and inspire the next generation of Appalachians to build a better future for themselves and for the region.

“By believing in our Appalachian youth, they are empowered to believe in themselves — to believe that they can do anything they set their mind to,” said Pat Griffith, assistant director of YES.

YES serves children in Appalachia through summer camps, in-school services, and a Teen Leadership initiative. Over the past decade, YES has seen the number of young people in Teen Leadership grow from 8 to 80. Through hands-on service opportunities and the help of supportive employees and volunteers, participants in Teen Leadership learn and grow. YES offers them a safe place to try new things, reflect, and overcome obstacles — which will benefit them as they face challenges of all sizes, from team-building activities to big life decisions.

“As program participation increases, we actively seek out opportunities to help teens develop leadership skills. Some of these opportunities include partnering with various CAP programs for service projects, assisting with community events, and hosting weekend-long events focusing on different aspects of leadership,” Griffith said. This year YES also added two new staff positions, called Teen Empowerment Advocates, whose resources and time are dedicated to the initiative’s programming, recruiting, and facilitation.

Participants in Teen Leadership impact their communities in many positive ways, but their work primarily benefits Appalachian children. Through an opportunity to serve as junior counselors during the summer camp season, the teens become role models to the younger campers and help create the camp magic many of them once experienced.

“Many of our teen participants attended our summer camps for years and felt firsthand the compassion, love, and understanding YES offers to Appalachian children,” Griffith said. “They really want to give back by being the person who offers the same compassion, love, and understanding that they received as children. They want to leave a legacy, to know something they did mattered. Something they’ve never been able to do perhaps in any other part of their lives.”

In addition to the impact the teens make on their community and children at summer camp, YES has seen the success of the Teen Leadership initiative as participants transition out of the program. Of the participating teens, 100% of them have graduated from high school. Of that percentage, 60% are attending college or have attended college or a vocational school.

“While these numbers are encouraging to see, we do not measure success by their educational choices alone,” Griffith said. “It’s about who they become and how they’re giving back to their communities. By the time the teens leave the program, they will have done things they once believed difficult or impossible. Going forward from Teen Leadership, participants have a renewed confidence in their ability to lead, and they carry that with them throughout their lives.”