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501(C)3, non-stock, not for profit, youth organization. |
Non-Toxic Youth Alternatives, Inc., non-stock, non-profit Philosophy of Ministry
The Edgerton Teen Center |
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| OUTLINE:
1. The Vision 2. The Philosophy 3. The Target Audience 4. The Need 5. The Purpose 6. The Strategy 7. The Mission
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Mission Statement Filling the void in an empty generation through relationships in a contemporary, exciting and dynamic way. The Vision To reach out to young adults in Southern Wisconsin through genuine relationships and to foster trust through which we will offer positive and dynamic alternatives for an "at risk" and searching generation. The desire to offer friendship will be a natural outflow of our relationship with each individual. We will minister through love, friendship and acceptance. The Philosophy Non-Toxic's Philosophy is defined as that which is Valued by God. The purpose of the organization is addressed in the Purpose Statement. The means to bring about the vision is outlined in the Strategy section. There are four areas dealt with in this philosophy of value. The Values that frame the Philosophy at Non-Toxic Youth Alternatives, Inc., are: Teens are Highly Valuable. Value stems from an intrinsic quality that all people possess. Teens are people and are considered invaluable despite failings in character, wrong choices or willful rebellion. Value does not nullify responsibility but it does demand action by the mature adult to deal with each situation. Value is not based upon performance but upon the existence of the person. A young person can change dramatically when he or she understands that he or she is very important. Genuine Relationships are Highly Valuable. The great dilemma of the "AT RISK" generation is the result of lacking or destructive relationships. Peer groups offer relationships but these are not often healthy since they are based upon immature people's values. Gangs offer security and a substitute family but offer no hope, unconditional love nor forgiveness. It takes a mature caring adult to offer a genuine and valuable relationship to a teen. Non-Toxic can provide what many of these teens do not have but want such as a mature adult, teacher, mentor or minister. Many of the "at risk" teens do not feel comfortable in a school setting, nor church so the availability for positive relationships is not possible in those settings. Non-Toxic has chosen a neutral ground to offer its availability to the searching teen. Many leaders can offer a young person what he or she needs in the areas of guidance, self control, self esteem, sexuality and spirituality but these pressing crisis' facing teens will only be accepted by the teen if mutual trust and acceptance have been established. Positive Alternatives are Highly Valuable. The temptations facing teens today are enormous. Unless a young person is actively involved in a number of extracurricular school activities (and this is no guarantee) the time available to begin a harmful habit or the temptation to partake of a dangerous activity are overwhelming. Providing a positive alternative to teens at the most dangerous and vulnerable times is essential to saving them from self inflicted personal destruction. They cannot be forced to choose the good but they can be offered the good and when a relationship is begun many teens will generally choose the relationship over the temptation. Young people want to feel loved, accepted and important. They will go wherever this is felt. At Non-Toxic many popular, constructive and fun activities are offered including pool, foosball, darts, air hockey, video games, 9- hole mini-golf course, live entertainment and all of this is available at one indoor location containing over 5,000 square feet of recreational floor space. Also included is a fully licensed and insured restaurant and dining area where teens can "sit and sip soda" or just "hang out." Available as well, are the Outdoor Adventure Retreats. Each month one or more of the following adventures take place through Non-Toxic: rock climbing, rappelling, canoeing, mountain biking, paintball, camping, wild caving and swimming. Non-Toxic owns the equipment to offer most of these activities in a safe and exciting way. Indoor and Outdoor activities provide the teens with many healthy choices to enjoy. Quality is Highly Valuable. Parks, Malls and the Streets have become the place most frequented by teens. In these areas little or no supervision is available and the opportunity to be involved in destructive activities is overwhelming. In order to compete with these exciting avenues of potential destruction any type of alternative program must be of a high quality. The facilities provided by Non-Toxic are clean, neat and contemporary offering many different types of games and activities and positive alternatives. Adult supervision is always present. The Target Audience The person that Non-Toxic Youth Alternatives, Inc. is targeting is a male or female person between the ages of 13-19 years old. Many of the teens who naturally fall into the target audience are those young people who are very much "at risk," because they are into the drug and alcohol scene, are from dysfunctional families, have been abused and neglected or simply because they are confused and need guidance and direction. The mission of Non-Toxic is to declare, explain and prove that there are adults in the community who volunteer time because each cares about the life choices made by the teens. Teenagers are the group of people Non-Toxic is trained and called to serve. This generation can be trusted and they need to be shown that they are intrinsically valuable to God, their community, adults and to the world they live in. There exists in Rock County, Wisconsin an urgent need to declare, explain and prove the love of God and of the Community to a generation of young people that have been fed too many lies, been shown too much pornography, been sung too much perverse profanity and been encouraged in too much depravity. They have absolutely no hope without adult intervention in their immediate situation. These four groups: Home, Church, Government and Community should love, strengthen and protect young people from drugs, alcohol, sexual activity, and gang activity. Non-Toxic is standing in the gap representing a Dynamic and Positive Alternative to this abandoned generation. The Purpose Non-Toxic's purpose is to provide positive and dynamic alternatives to the destructive activities that teens are tempted to be involved in and faced with on a somewhat daily basis. Non-Toxic draws young people to it by its activities, programs, concerts and retreats so that the staff can relate to each teen on a personal level. By meeting personally over a consistent period of time genuine relationships are created, nurtured and established. This relational Adult to Teen mentoring role remains strong even after the teenage years. Since the creation of Non-Toxic back in 1993, many wonderful relationships have begun which to this day remain strong. We count among our friends those teens who were among the first to enjoy the teen center. Now in their 20's we still engage in meaningful relationships. They have touched our lives forever and we have touched theirs. This is a wonderful cycle which will continue even after volunteers and board members leave and new one's take their place. The Strategy Non-Toxic's strategy involves the objective of Attraction and Availability. The first objective is to Attract young people to a place where we can minister to them individually. The means by which this can be accomplished is through the vehicle of a Teen Center. Non-Toxic has for its setting a Teen Center atmosphere equipped with pool tables, foosball tables, electronic dart boards, arcade games and other recreational games plus a quality sounding stereo system that plays music as a back drop to enhance the atmosphere that young people enjoy. The primary purpose of Non-Toxic is to provide an environment which will attract young people. Gangs, sexual activity, occult activity and rebellion are signs of a greater problem- a desire for genuine relationships. At the Center teens find acceptance, trust and friendships. Here, they can find a relationship with an adult who cares! The second objective is to be Available to engage in genuine relational bonding with the teens that frequent the teen center. Sitting down with a young person and talking about the many problems, confusions and other things in his or her life are open doors into the teen's life and often times the frustrations in these young lives are eased by an eye to eye conversation and attentive listening ear. The Mission To provide positive alternatives to teen through recreation and adventure. To provide workshops from which to enjoy and learn. To provide education through gifted speakers dealing with relevant teen issues. Non-Toxic is a place which offers: established - March, 1993
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Teens are Highly Valuable. Genuine Relationships are Highly Valuable. Positive Alternatives are Highly Valuable. Quality is Highly Valuable.
Non-Toxic Youth Alternatives, Inc., is a multi-denominational Christian organization working together for the benefit and welfare of our youth. The Board members represent different church backgrounds. GOVERNING BOARD of DIRECTORS: Founder and President: Dave Flood Board of Members: Tom McShane, Rosemary Williams, Jay Williams Kyle Schliem.
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