Youth Summer Mission Trip 2011
Come on a mission to SF & Oakland in summer 2011!
We are going to San Francisco and Oakland for a week of service and urban immersion experience. This trip has been a highlight of the year for students. Last year’s trip made a big impact on participants. More students have participated each year.
WHEN IS THE TRIP?
August 7-13, 2011. We will depart First Pres at 9 am on Sunday, August 7. We will return on Saturday, August 13. Our service week concludes on Friday, but we will spend an extra night and have some well-deserved fun.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
The minimum age is 12. CSM typically arranges mission trips for students 12-18, but we have negotiated 3 spots for incoming sixth graders. CSM is making special provision for 3 students who are 11 years old (likely incoming sixth graders) by making arrangements at service sites that are age-approriate for younger students. They will likely be transported in a separate car, as they’ll be going different places than older students. Maturity, attitude and physical stamina are important considerations for your student on a week-long mission trip. We work hard. Days are long. Wakeup time is early morning. Even so, students also consider this trip the highlight of their year. If you have any questions about your student’s fitness for this trip, please talk to Marissa. There will be 3 adult leaders. Friends are welcome. We have reserved 14 spaces, and can scale to a maximum of 20 participants. Space is reserved on a first come, first served basis.
WHAT IS THE COMMITMENT?
Students are expected to attend three preparation sessions leading up to the trip and to lead worship as a team (with Marissa’s leadership) the following Sunday, August 21, sharing their experiences with the congregation.
HOW MUCH DOES THE TRIP COST?
- The program cost per person is $350. This includes lodging and most meals. The church comps students’ transportation, gas and parking fees.
- Students will need spending money for 5 meals out (2 travel meals, 1 fun day meal, 1 night out) and a day of fun. $75
- Scholarships are available. Don’t let money get in the way of going! Talk to Marissa about it.
- $350 is due by May 1. Make checks payable to First Presbyterian Church Palo Alto.
- Space is reserved on a first come, first served basis. - If you cancel within 60 days or less before August 1, your deposit and fees paid will be forfeited.
WHO HOSTS AND SUPERVISES?
Marissa will lead this trip, along with 2-3 adult volunteer leaders. We are partnering with the Center for Student Missions, a highly regarded mission organization with experience with mixed middle school/high school groups. The host will give us instruction on what to do/not do and talk us through every activity before you do it. The debriefing is the biggest part of the learning activities is the debriefing. As groups talk about an activity, they can see it from God’s perspective and grow in some really neat ways.
WHAT ABOUT TRANSPORTATION?
We will rent a 12 passenger van and drive a second car. The car will likely be transport younger students to their service sites, as CSM is making special provisions for age-appropriate sites for incoming 6th graders.
WHERE WILL WE STAY?
We will be housed in Oakland. There are separate rooms for boys and girls. Because boys are not allowed in girls rooms and no boys in girls rooms, people usually congregate in the common areas and not in the dorms.
WHAT IS THE SCHEDULE?
Here is a sample schedule. Quiet hours start at 10 pm. Lights out is at 10:30 pm.
WHAT WILL WE DO THERE?
Students go out in small groups and rotate ministry sites throughout the week. Homelessness is a focus of the week, and interactions with the homeless are age appropriate and safe. CSM Trips are tailored around the needs and goals of your groups, as well as the needs of the city. The ministry sites that we work with are ones that our City Staff have a strong relationship with, so many of our staff are familiar with the clients at the sites and have built relationship with them. Also, each serving group is assigned a City Host to facilitate the experience and watch out for and safety concerns and handle them.
Here is a sampling of the service opportunities:
The Salvation Army Tenderloin Central Corps serves the people of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. “The Tenderloin” is an eight-block area that is home to many elderly, immigrant families, homeless individuals, and most of San Francisco’s SRO’s (single room occupancy) hotels. CSM works primarily with the After School Program and the Summer Day Camp. Groups will be asked to help get the children from school, help out with homework, play a game of dodgeball, and generally encourage the children that attend the program.
Project Open Hand delivers hot meals and groceries daily to over 2,000 people living with HIV and AIDS in San Francisco and the East Bay. CSM volunteers help prepare meals in the kitchen, shop for clients in the Grocery Center, and deliver meals on daily routes.
Laguna Honda Hospital is a long term care facility for individuals needing medical care. Our groups will work with the residents by leading an aerobics class, playing balloon volleyball, wheeling the residents to special events at the hospital, and if your lucky-helping with a field trip! Often times our best service to the residents is to just be a listening and caring ear.
City Team Oakland is a ministry in West Oakland that provides hot meals, safe shelter, showers, and clean clothing to the homeless population. There is a residential recovery program for men that struggle with drugs and alcohol, as well as a new learning center to meet educational needs for men and women in the neighborhood. CSM volunteers assist with a variety of services that include, but are not limited to: brining groceries to those in need, helping prepare/serve meals, and providing a Friday night chapel service for men in the program and homeless from the community.
Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping those in need. CSM volunteers could be helping at the thrift store, the dining room that serves 1,000 meals each day, or a drop-in center that provides assistance for homeless and low-income women and children.
St. Vincent’s Day Home is a non-profit organization, located in West Oakland, that provides comprehensive programs for toddlers and pre-schoolers, a licensed full-day kindergarten, and before-and-after school programs for older children. St. Vincent’s serves primarily single parent families who struggle at or below the poverty line. CSM volunteers have a great time assisting the classroom teachers in playing with the kids and helping the kids learn new skills.
Alameda Food Bank is one of Alameda’s primary social service organizations that consistently provides nutritionally balanced groceries to low-income residents. Volunteers will most likely be sorting and packaging the food so it can be efficiently distributed.
The city director makes preliminary reservations with agencies based on what they typically need, but that is subject to change, so we will be flexible about our work opportunities.
WHAT DO I BRING?
Here is a list of what to bring (and not bring) to the city.
WANT MORE INFORMATION?
Check out CSM’s website. Contact Marissa Myers, Youth Director, at mmyers@fprespa.org or
