“Fall” is here. We seem to be very slowly getting into leaves changing. The tourists will be back
soon enough (if they ever left). RabunYES is preparing for 2024 as we take a hard look at youth
programs and the mix of skills taught and experiences gained. The focus will increase upon
experiential learning, leadership skills and the pairing of mainstream youth with those having
learning challenges. For RabunYES, social media may not play as large a role going forward as
that audience spends more time virtue signaling than in practice being engaged.
Communications through our partner organizations and among other like-minded organizations
will increase in 2024. Summary information, to include prior updates, may be found on our
website www.RabunYES.org
Highlights in this Fall season appear below:
- An announcement to other youth organizations for requesting RabunYES funding went
out in September seeking programs in two groups; A program may range anywhere up
to $1,000 or from $1,000 to $3,000. Our timeline… - October 31st; we are gathering a wide set of programs from our affiliate organizations to
choose from. - By Thanksgiving; All programs will be in front of our Board for selection/approval.
- December 31st; the Board will lock in our 2024 Budget and announce programs to our
affiliates. - In mid-October, RabunYES will sponsor a Scouting trip to North Carolina for a historic
Andrews Valley Railroad tour. This one-day adventure should be a fun time and learning
experience for the Scouts. - RabunYES has renewed its annual membership with Forward Rabun in August and
hopes to be further engaged with youth in its leadership program. We had sponsored the
STEM training program in Atlanta, and are excited as to what is planned for the coming
year. - What will youth of our county like to see Rabun become? That is the question being
tossed at teens as a long-term study project covering zoning, density, traffic, jobs, etc.
RabunYES is seeking local high school students to study and report on their findings
and aspirations with the opportunity to interview adult leaders across the spectrum. We
hope that by engaging youth in this dialogue, we might retain them in Rabun after
graduating high school or college. - $500 in school supplies were purchased to help kids get started in school from Place of
Hope. RabunYES was able to purchase additional supplies at a great discount as the
school buying season ended and prepared give-away kits for the future - “Thank you” letters have been received from Civil Air Patrol, 4-H and Place of Hope and
FoxFire in the past two months for contributions made by Rabun YES.
A gift of any amount is greatly appreciated. Checks can be made out to “RabunYES” and
mailed c/o Tom Buckridge, Treasurer, PO Box 283, Clayton, GA 30525. To directly donate, the
website accepts credit card contributions via its secure PayPal link easily found on the
website’s “donate” page… https://www.rabunyes.org/donate/