2 people found this review helpful
Young Life
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February 26, 2013
2 people found this review helpful
This organization finds it way into middle and high school and seeks out kids. School boards should forbid them from contact with minors. Please don't support this organization. Keep your kids away from this organization.
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Will you volunteer or donate to this organization?
No
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
None
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
January 10, 2013
I cannot think of a better non-profit to give your money to that truly makes a lasting and even eternal difference in your community. As a donor for many years now I have always felt privileged to partner with such a great organization with equally as great people. Never mind the nay-sayers out there. The same way one may misinterpret the intentions of a person, the folks who dislike YL have merely misinterpreted the intentions of the organization. The entire organization strives everyday to emulate Jesus in what they do by being friends and mentors to teenagers and experiencing life along side of them, the same way Jesus did with his friends. All in all, I have loved giving both money and time to Young Life and will continue to do so.
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Was your donation impactful?
Definitely
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Definitely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2013
January 9, 2013
1 person found this review helpful
be warned of this organization. My wife and I are now dealing with a son who has spent all of his college money volunteering for YL, is making horrible grades, is showing cult like behavior, has turned his back on all of his friends, roommates and us. It is a disaster. We have lost our son to this cult disguising as a Christian organization when I now see that it is just a cult where those at the top are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and the organization is worth millions. Young Life is the devil hiding in Jesus clothing. Read this thread: http://forum.rickross.com/read.php?14,15330,page=1
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Was your donation impactful?
No
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Unlikely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Unlikely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
1 person found this review helpful
December 8, 2012
1 person found this review helpful
Young Life is THE main reason I became a Christian in High School. Young Life is not always fully understood unless you have been personally involved or impacted by it. That is why I highly suggest na-sayers to learn more about YL or talk to those of us who have been involved with it before making up their mind. If it were not for Young Life it would have taken me many many years before I was obedient to God and his plans for my life. YL has taught me that you can be you and have flaws but still be striving to do God's will. Please give Young Life a chance and research it!
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Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Quite well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
December 6, 2012
To potential donors, I love YL because we really make a difference in kids' lives. As leaders, we provide a substance-free party called "Club" for them every week, at the end of which we talk a little about Jesus. If kids want to know more, they can come to a Bible study called "Campaigners", in which they learn more. We also have camps in the winter and summer, which include a series of Clubs, lessons, really fun activities, and heart-to-heart talks. We also act as friends and mentors to teens. Leaders are people they can trust and rely on. All leaders have passed criminal background checks and live by a pretty strict moral code outlined by YL to ensure that we model good behavior. All that being said, I feel like I should write to dispel a lot untrue information being spread on this page. (If it is true for your local chapter, I would say that's a shame because YL does not work like that on the whole!) I became involved in Young Life as a leader last year. I am not evangelical by any stretch of imagination, but I do love working with kids. One of the best things about YL is that we don't cram Christianity down the kids' throats. Yes, coming to Club means that they hear a five-minute talk about Christ, usually a personal story about how my relationship with God has worked this specific way in my life or something similar. We don't tell kids they're horrible, going to hell, or anything else of that nature, and we certainly don't judge their lifestyles! Those are the things that usually turn us all off to Christianity, right? Kids can either listen or not listen, but they get to keep coming back to have fun and hang out even if they never buy into it. Another awesome part of being a leader is just being there for kids who are going through life struggles. Even if they're from the best homes imaginable, they still carry burdens they won't talk about with their families. We are good role models who listen and help them make good decisions. I've seen our care and kindness influence kids to stop partying, drinking, and doing drugs. YL leaders also engage with the parents of kids, keeping them in the communication loop and being very open and honest about Club, Campaigners, Camp, etc. We don't sneak attack your kids with Bibles, and the intention is never to turn a teen against his/her parents. I have yet to meet a parent who has had an issue with the organization, and most parents have gone out of their way to say what a difference we have made to their sons and daughters. We occasionally hang out with kids we know at school--meet them for lunch or attend a sporting event, and other kids will come sit down for a chat and wonder who we are. Of course we don't turn them away. And Club is clean, rowdy, substance-free fun, and those kid who regularly come to Club go tell more kids, and they start coming and tell more kids. Sometimes parents want their kids to go, and sometimes they don't, and we are respectful of the decision either way. We also get to know kids and what's important to them, often attending plays or football games just to show that we care, because we do! We want them to do well and know that we're not just out to convert, but that we actually care about them. I'm not a leader because I'm "creepy", racist, misguided, homophobic, or brainwashed. It's not some underhanded plot to indoctrinate anyone. It's just simply to be there for teens as the navigate this rocky age, and to share our own stories with them. Many of them choose to come to Christ, not because we pressured them, but because they see the way we live, care, and interact, and they see this promise of a God who is forgiving and full of love, who holds every child precious in His eyes and bears their burdens, and who gives them strength and guidance for every stage of life.
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Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
November 30, 2012
Young Life is a self-serving non-profit whose main goal at the end of the day is to peddle co-ed summer camp registrations and recruit new donors to perpetuate the Young Life camping network. They offer no physical charitable benefits to the community. They use college-aged kids to infiltrate the network of cliques at local high schools and use their seniority to recruit new members (in blatant disregard for separation of church and state).
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Will you volunteer or donate to this organization?
No
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
None
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2007
October 16, 2012
Young life is a remarkable organization that reaches out to middle and high school teens and builds relationships . These friendships are characterized by adults(usually mature high schoolers working with the middle schoolers and post college volunteers working with high schoolers) who encourage, accept unconditionally and "walk the walk" of integrity and love for God. I've watched the impact of this organization for 33 years and seen not only teens but their families as well impacted for good.
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Was your donation impactful?
Definitely
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Definitely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
September 10, 2009
1 person found this review helpful
My husband and I have been associated with Young Life for 35 years or more as donors,parents of club and campaigner kids and committee. We've seen direct evidence of the "fruits" of this ministry in our own children"s lives as well as the lives of hundreds of other teens and their families. I've often heard it said that the one requirement for a Young Life person is laughter. Jesus Christ is always glorified... in the laughter, the lives changed, the relationships built between leaders and kids, relationships transformed between kids and parents, kids and families, kids and their friends. The more you know of Young Life, the more you'll want to be involved.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
watching families in our community enjoy improved relationships with their children and come to faith in Jesus Christ.
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The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
Well trained and dedicated.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every week
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2009
1 person found this review helpful
October 5, 2012
1 person found this review helpful
I am writing to communicate my delight with this organization. Young Life is a non-denominational outreach to Jr and High School students with the message hope through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a mother of children who have been involved since Middle School, and continue now in High School I am grateful to the organization. It is wonderful to have volunteer leaders who spend time in my child's world engaging with them and their friends in a positive and encouraging way when my daughter or son have a victory or a challenge in their life, the Young Life leader is one of the first people they encounter to share with. As a Christian mom, it is wonderful to know there is another caring christian adult who would take time to love my children. Our Young Life community is supported by local businesses, Catholic and Protestant Churches, and individuals like myself. We enjoy going to fund raising events where parents can hear from students, volunteers and staff about Young Life and the impact it is having in my community. It is particularly special that many children have the opportunity to experience a spiritual journey in an environment that is not judgemental and does not emphasize what sacrament, or doctrine or theology separates the body of Christ. Rather, it emphasizes the child's ability to think, reason and conclude for himself or herself what her thoughts are about God. I would recommend to any parent the Young Life experience.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
my life and my children's lives
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
make it available to as many communities as possible.
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Was your donation impactful?
Definitely
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Definitely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
What specific problem, purpose, priority, or project prompted your gift?
fund raising event
Why did you make your donation at this time?
to help kids in my community
What would you tell others about this organization?
I would trust them
2 people found this review helpful
September 24, 2012
2 people found this review helpful
I was involved in YL during High School. I was part of the "in-group" of campaigners. I started questioning the virtues of evangelical proselytizing and the leaders stopped contacting me. I was dangerous I guess. I knew theology and the Bible all-too-well. I realized that I was only a pawn on the board. They needed me for they could convert kids. The organization is also blatantly homophobic and has tinges of racism. This organization finds its way into schools and seeks out kids. They try to draw them in by offering fun game, music, and food. I am a Christian, but I'm an open and critical-thinking one. Their theology is trash. They are out to tell your kids that they suck. They spent all of their theological lectures telling the kids how much they suck. Eventually they create enough theological depression to convert them by telling them that the only way to be whole is through belief in Jesus. They don't even emphasize Christian virtues, i.e. peace, love, justice, kindness. To all Christian and non-Christians out there - Don't support this organization.
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How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
A little
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
No
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Somewhat badly
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
2 people found this review helpful
August 26, 2012
2 people found this review helpful
As a a parent and teacher, it is disturbing that this group has access to my children and are so coy about their intentions. School Boards should forbid them from having contact with minors at school. If I were to have a similar group of atheists trying to convert the Christians, I'd be railed out of the school. Guarantee.
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Will you volunteer or donate to this organization?
No
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
A lot
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
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