Who is Matt Adams? And what is #GoTheDistance?

Hey Father’s Club! I’m a dad just like you. I’ve got a 10th grade boy (Jeremy) at BVSW and 8th and 6th grade daughters (Layla and Mira) at Aubry Bend MS. I’ve also been working with teenagers through an organization called Young Life for 17 years.

My wife and I started our first 11 years with Young Life in Europe, specifically Munich, Germany. Now I work on the YL Europe Team as Director of Strategic Initiatives and I also will be helping lead our Young Life work in Blue Valley and Olathe Schools starting this October.

I’m honored to be a part of Father’s Club in my local school. What you are doing really matters to connect dads, help kids, and keep our community strong!

Why does Young Life exist?
There are a lot of hurting kids out there. A lot who are lost.  That is the heartbeat of Young Life – to seek out the kids who need hope, who need a purpose, who need a community and to offer them the gift of friendship.

We do that in 3 primary ways:

1) Going where kids are and building personal relationships with them  

2) Providing fun, adventurous, life-changing experiences

3) Working in community alongside like-minded adults 

We are excited to partner with Father’s Club for the #GoTheDistance Campaign 

#GTD is a campaign of compassion, aimed at raising awareness for teen mental health in our community.

The CDC lists suicide as the second leading cause of death among 10-34 year olds in America.

Through the “30 days of hope” challenge and the “1 Day Run-Bike-Walk” we will mobilize our community to:

– Get moving – teams will run, bike and walk!

– Together – teams will receive a media kit with tools to share their journey with their friends online

– For Hope – the media kit will equip our teams with images, data, and resources to share on social media that will raise awareness and offer tools to help address teen mental health

REGISTER at http://www.gothedistanceforteens.com

Get involved with Young Life South Johnson County?

“How can I get involved?” form here

First Outreach Event – September 13th (fill out form for more info) form here

New Leader Training – Starting September 20th (fill out form for more info) form here

High School Winter Weekend – 12/3 – 12/5 @ Clearwater Cove in Branson, MO. (fill out form for more info) form here

Matt Adams
Young Life
Area Developer

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Call to Action for Dads

Brad Holdhusen, the CEO of Father’s Club shares a call to action for dads. He wanted to share one of the focuses for Father’s Club as we begin this school year together. And he does it with a food analogy!

We’ve all seen the plates with sections to keep food separate… but Brad suggests what we really want is just a big flat plate. Why? So that everything can mix together of course. There is too much division right now. Let’s stop focusing on sides and focus on the main entrée. And that is making it easy for dads to get involved with their kids at school and in the community.

With love, resolve and humility, we want to be a catalyst for change. Join us!

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