Youth Workin' It

Consultancy and Resources for Youth Workers and Organizations Worldwide

16 Things To Do When Planning A Youth Retreat – Hidden Gem #8

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Youth retreatToday sees the last of our Hidden Gems – posts that you might have missed the first time they were published.

16 Things To Do When Planning a Youth Retreat

If you want to take a group of young people away for a weekend or longer, there’s a lot of planning to do.

To help with this, today’s (final) Hidden Gem has a checklist of 16 things to do when planning a youth retreat. This list also has links to several other posts that give more information and advice for the different steps.

Getting Started – Planning A Youth Retreat

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Live Below The Line – Youth Group Activities

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Live Below The Line Youth Group Activities
Breakfast on a $1.50 daily budget

Live Below The Line is a global campaign that seeks to both raise awareness about extreme poverty and raise money in order to make a difference for people living in that situation.

This week’s session plan idea therefore has some ideas for youth group activities to take part in this campaign.

What’s involved?

Extreme poverty is currently defined as having to live on $1.50 a day. The Live Below The Line campaign therefore encourages people to spend five days living on $1.50 a day, so a total of $7.50 over the course of the five days.

Although this would normally include all costs like housing, clothing, transport, etc, for the purpose of the campaign participants only have to restrict their $1.50 spending to food and drink.

The US part of the campaign is being run from April 29 to May 3 2013, but if this doesn’t provide enough time to prepare the following activities, your youth group could always participate during another 5 day period.

So here are some suggested youth group activities to help your young people have a more tangible appreciation for what life is like when living on such a small amount of money.

Activity 1 – Video

Watch a video which explains a little more about Live Below The Line. We’ve embedded one below featuring Hugh Jackman, but there are many more featuring Sophia Bush, Josh Groban and others.

n.b. This video is aimed at Australians, so gives the figure as $2 which is the Australian Dollar equivalent.

Activity 2 – Meal Planning

Sit down with your youth and plan out some meals that they might be able to afford on a $1.50 a day budget

To prepare for this, go to a grocery store and price out various staple foods and ingredients. Make a note of the:

  • Price per package
  • Weight of package
  • Portion size

This will enable you to calculate the cost per portion in advance. Create a worksheet with all the portion size prices so that the young people can pick and choose the different ingredients they need for each meal.

Here are some suggestions for food items to include:

  • Pasta
  • Rice
  • Baked potatoes
  • Bananas
  • Breakfast cereal
  • Milk
  • Eggs
  • Cheap cuts of meat
  • Canned tuna
  • Lentils
  • Vegetables
  • Ramen noodles
  • Canned tomatoes
  • Bread
  • Butter

Stipulate that they have to plan for three meals a day. Each meal doesn’t have to total $0.50, but they’re not allowed to exceed $1.50 per day.

See our previous session plan about meal planning for some further ideas on how to help young people learn how to do this.

Activity 3 – Cooking

Even if your youth group can’t fully participate in the entire campaign, cook and eat a meal together. For this part, allow $0.50 per person for ingredients.

This might cause some conflicts between youth who want to eat different things or who don’t like the meal that’s been chosen. Use this as an opportunity to discuss what it must be like for families who have to live on such a strict budget for their entire lives. Encourage them to try to find a meal that everyone’s able to agree upon.

Activity 4 – Fundraiser

Plan a youth group fundraiser as an activity to raise money for people who have to live on such a low budget every day of the year. The Live Below The Line website has a list of partner organizations who the money can be donated to.

A good option could be a spaghetti dinner fundraiser, restricting the portion size spending to $1.50 per person. You can then highlight to the attendees that the meal they just ate would be all that 1.4 billion people worldwide would be able to afford for that day’s food.

Try to charge as much as possible for the meal so that you can maximize the amount raised. If 50 people paid $10 per head, this would raise $425 after the food costs have been taken out. Arrange a collection for the attendees to donate further to the cause.

Activity 5 – Youth Retreat

If you’re planning a youth retreat, consider using a hunger theme, limiting the food spending to $1.50 per person per day. This will give the youth a much better idea of what it’s really like to live on such a low food budget and how bland and lacking in nutrition meals will tend to be.

This will also help reduce the cost of the youth retreat as you’ll need less money for the food budget. Charge the same amount for the retreat as you normally would though, using the additional money to either subsidize the cost for less well-off youth, or donate the rest to a charity that works with people living in extreme poverty.

Questions: Are you taking part in the Live Below The Line campaign? What kind of youth group activities are you planning? Let us know in the comments below.

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10 Questions To Ask A Youth Retreat Center

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Youth Retreat CenterQ: I’m planning a youth retreat for the first time and am looking at a few different retreat centers. There doesn’t seem to be much difference between them, so do you have any ideas for how to narrow them down?

A: I’m assuming you’ve already taken into account the overall cost, on-site activities and the location of the center, as those will tend to be three of the main factors to bear in mind.

That being the case, here are 10 questions that it’s worth asking the youth retreat center. These might seem like little things, but they could give you a better idea of which location will best suit what you have planned.

  1. Is internet available? If you’re needing to get online, a retreat center with no internet access for your group could be problematic, particularly if it’s in the middle of nowhere as you may not get good 3G / 4G signal on your cellphone.
  2. Are there TV / DVD facilities? A center without these may mean it’s a no-go if you’re planning on having a movie night at the youth retreat.
  3. Is there a projector available? Assuming you’ll be having some kind of meetings, you may also need access to a projector. Does the center have one or would you need to bring a portable one with you?
  4. Can you have a camp fire? Time spent around a camp fire can be one of the most memorable parts of a youth retreat, so a center that forbids them might mean it immediately gets crossed off your list.
  5. Is bedding provided? If you’re camping, this might not be applicable. However, if you’re staying in dorm rooms, a cabin, etc, don’t assume that bedding will be provided – ask the question in case they expect you to bring sleeping bags or some other kind of bedding.
  6. Are meals provided? Although your list of centers appears to be similar, if one or more of them don’t include meals while another one does, the center with meals could prove to be far better value.
  7. Are snacks provided? Even if meals are included, are snacks also provided or would you need to bring these with you? Alternatively, are there vending machines on site so that youth can buy chips, candy or soda if they want?
  8. Will other groups be there? For a small youth retreat center, this may not be an issue. For larger locations though, there may be other youth groups there too – this might therefore restrict what facilities are available for you to use.
  9. Are there additional charges for on-site facilities? If there’s a pool, will you have to pay extra in order for the center to provide a lifeguard? If there are tennis courts, will you have to pay extra to use the center’s tennis rackets?
  10. What indoor facilities are there? If you’re planning lots of outdoor activities for the youth retreat, what options would you have if it rained? Is there an indoor hall where you could organize games, or would you be stuck either out in the rain or in dorm rooms?

It may be that not all of these questions will apply to your retreat, but hopefully some of them will help guide you in the decision you make.

We’ve also written a book called How To Plan A Youth Retreat – this covers all areas of retreat planning, including a chapter where we go more in depth about how to pick a youth retreat center. You can get a copy now from Amazon or a digital copy from us here.

Question: What other questions would be worth asking a retreat center to help you choose which one to use? Let us know in the comments below.

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Should We Use The Same Youth Retreat Center Again?

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Youth retreat center
What should you do if a youth retreat center leaves you feeling like this?

Q: I was unhappy about something the last time we used a youth retreat center. I’m not sure if we should go back to the same place or find somewhere new – what do you suggest?

A: Depending on the situation, I certainly can’t suggest you return to a retreat center you felt uncomfortable with, but with good communication you may not need to end the professional relationship with that center – it may have been a one off.

If you do decide to use a new youth retreat center though, try these three things when choosing one so you can be proactive in avoiding possible issues during your stay:

1. Do your research

The internet is full of information and reviews about centers all around the world. Take the time to compare and contrast the companies, find reviews and call or email the center for more information. You’ll be able to get some ideas about how they do business and what a retreat might look like with them.

2. Go somewhere you know or where someone you trust has been

There’s a reason word of mouth is so powerful to businesses. Often people trust people, that people they trust, trust.

3. Visit the center yourself while activities are going on

Even though someone you trust has used a center, you’re ultimately responsible for the safety and enjoyment of your youth on the trip. Take the time to watch staff lead activities, interact with one another and youth and get a feel for the retreat center culture (is everyone happy, grumbling, bored, etc?)

Once you’re on a retreat it’s really important to remember that this a service you’re paying for, so you deserve to have things done right, in a way that you prefer and which takes the safety and enjoyment of your youth into account.

The Importance Of Communication

The key is all about communication. If you have an issue with staff at the center, make sure you take your issues immediately to the center management, especially if it’s a safety concern.

I was on a retreat once and was participating in a trust game with my young people. The center staff were observing the activity as they were running it and one of our youth didn’t have a partner. I was blindfolded for the trust activity. The entire group spread out over a large field during the activity. Two youth got into a disagreement and one walked off into the woods. It wasn’t until 5 minutes later when the game ended and I removed my blindfold that I was aware a youth had left the grounds. When I asked the staff where the youth went, they just shrugged. We searched for our youth for over 45 minutes – he was found safely hiding in the toilets.

The young person did get a talking to about walking off without notifying our staff (me or my colleague) about the issue. Time and space is certainly acceptable, but I’m responsible for the youth’s safety and I’d appreciate a heads up about their whereabouts.

The larger issue here was the attitude of the staff. They saw the entire situation happening and were trained retreat center staff – not just some volunteers who had no idea about how to run a group or keep youth safe, particularly in the woods. I immediately documented the incident and went to the management of the retreat center. They were apologetic but didn’t offer any real solutions to the problem other than to ‘look into it.’

Sometimes, even with preparation and planning, things can go wrong and accidents can happen. But, if you just don’t feel good about returning to a center, then don’t.  However, if you feel like the retreat center did everything possible and you’re willing to give them another try then do it.

In my situation, even though our organization had used that center before, I decided to find other youth retreat centers for future trips based on my personal experiences. I was able to find a center that placed youth safety first and worked with me to ensure that youth had a safe and enjoyable time. They listened and acted on any concerns or questions I had about activities and group dynamics and worked hard to make sure that everyone in our group – myself included – felt great about our retreat experiences at their center.

Question: Have you ever had problems with a retreat center? How did you deal with the situation? Let us know in the comments below.

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3 Reasons Sleep Is So Important At A Youth Retreat

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Youth retreat sleepQ: I’m leading a youth retreat and I’m not sure whether I should be expecting to get any sleep or not. Is that a normal part of the retreat?

A: I know that this answer is going to strike some of you as a farcically ironic or a completely ‘duh’ kind of post – with one side thinking ‘Who has time to sleep!?’ and the other saying ‘Of course you need a good night’s rest to be at your best!’

Sleep is CRUCIAL on a youth retreat. Trust me.

True story……

My first retreat experience with my youth where I was solely in charge of their growth, development and well being was comedic at best and terrible judgement at worst (it was actually both!). The week was co-ed with boys rooms at one end of the hall, girls rooms at the other end and me and the other leaders’ rooms in the middle.

You name it I was worried about it. Sneaking out. Pranks. Youth ending up in the English Channel. Sex. Drugs. Rock ‘n’ Roll (OK, maybe not that but you get the gist).

I’m pretty sure the young people at that youth retreat thought I didn’t sleep – ever. Like I was some kind of zombie-vampire hybrid that didn’t require sleep. Some of my actions were, in their basic idea, reasonable. Some were…… well, let’s call a spade a spade: Crazy.

Sleeping

I went to bed after the youth did. I don’t just mean ‘bed’ – I mean ‘asleep’. I’d wait in the hallway for 1-2 hours to be certain they were all asleep and if they came out for any reason they’d see me sitting there reading and it would remind them that I. Was. Watching. Everything.

I was awake whenever they went to the bathroom no matter what time, as I ‘slept’ with my door open. I’m a light sleeper when I’m anxious and I have to have it completely dark as a general rule. When someone would enter the hallway at this retreat center, the hall light would pop on.

So every time some poor sleepy teen would stumble down the hall there was a double shock waiting: the light would pop on and I would pop up in bed and whisper ‘Where are you going?’ They’d jump and mumble ‘loo’ and I’d sit there upright until they stumbled back to bed.

Waking

I was awake when they woke up. I’d be up and ready before they woke up – not just dressed, but ready. Then, I’d wake them up and wait patiently for everyone to get up and out of bed, dressed and we’d all start our day together.

Needless to say, by Day 2 I was exhausted. Day 3 I was getting a little loopy and by the end of the youth retreat I was resembling in all aspects that zombie-vampire hybrid we discussed earlier. Thankfully, the adrenaline of the experience kept me going and I was for the most part – thankfully – kind and patient with the youth despite being exhausted. But I didn’t need to be this way.

A Different Way

I learned over the next few retreats that I could get some sleep. It’s a youth retreat, so there’ll always be less sleep than normal, but 4-6 hours of undisturbed sleep is infinitely better than waking up every 20-40 minute when one of the 10 youth you brought with you has to go to the bathroom. And then there’s that awkward time you ask the other leader where they’re going – d’oh!

Here are the top 3 reasons why sleep is important on a retreat or any other youth overnight activity (well, except lock-ins – everyone knows that no one sleeps there!):

1. You’ll get replenished after a mentally taxing day

Retreats are great fun but they require you to be ‘on’ all day. You’re responsible for youth safety, volunteer coordination, talks, small groups, activities and meals.

Sleep is essential for making sure you’re ready to make the best decisions each day, especially if your retreat were to experience an unforeseen emergency.

2. You’ll be more patient

Youth work can be frustrating. Youth can be obstinate, out of control, emotional and silly. You need as much patience as you can draw from each and every time you interact with your teens.

Getting good sleep is key to being able to tap into your more calm and patient self when teens are refusing to get up, go to bed, stay on task, cuddling with each other, etc.

3. You’ll be more fun

Your youth want you to be involved with them. They want you to dangle off ropes, climb mountains, swim, canoe and race them around the retreat center.

You’ll be much more fun and up for the extreme adventures of your retreat if you’re getting as much sleep as possible and not physically exhausted.

Question: What tips do you have for maximizing sleep on a youth retreat? Let us know in the comments below.

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