As we always strive to communicate “gently” with our donors and constituents, our Spring Update is provided below. You will not receive multiple e-mails from us, but only receive seasonal updates. One thing we notice as of late is that Rabun County seems to now have year-round activity to include traffic, tourists and newer residents. There is not much of an “off season” any longer in our county. RabunYES’s programs are driven by the school year in any case. Plus, we get involved with summer camps and funding of summer youth activities. Thus, RabunYES IS year-round with no slack season. Below are the highlights of activities going on this Spring:
- Four (4) youth have been funded by RabunYES to attend high-end leadership training courses to include national leadership training and advanced emergency field first aid training and their Georgia CPR certification. The courses have been successfully completed. In 2023 we would like to double the students in such training which costs $320 to $350 per course/student on average.
- The 2022 RabunYES Leadership Scholarship application opportunity in Rabun County for a high school senior to be awarded $1,000 remains open. Deadline to apply is June 1st with the winner to be announced July1st. Request an application by sending an email to RubunGA.Youth@gmail.com and in the subject line type “Scholarship.”
- Georgia Power has selected RabunYES along with three other youth-development organizations in Rabun & Habersham Counties to benefit from a shotgun team tournament fundraiser being held on June 4th. RabunYES (along with 4-H and two other groups) will have a chance to share their work and goals with contestants.
- RabunYES is moving forward on its Five-Year Plan, one element of which requires focus. Special needs kids had not been a target group per se, but now are gaining our attention. We are working with Scouts to see if we can pair up special needs youth in the 12 to16 year-old range for outdoor experiences, particularly hiking and camping using the buddy system.
- Our two most recent seminars, “Guide for Young Adults Establishing Careers” and “Family Budgeting in Challenging Times” are available to church and civic groups wishing to have personalized training inside 90 minutes sessions. Contact RabunYES to schedule a seminar on these timely & important topics at no cost.
- RabunYES continues working on customizing financial education sessions for the Latino community, recognizing the language barriers among many adults and other special challenges.
- A June skydiving experience for eight (8) youth is being funded by RabunYES through BSA. This experience will be in Atlanta at an indoor facility where youth can be trained and go through a complete skydive routine in a safe enclosed environment.