Youth Workin' It

Consultancy and Resources for Youth Workers and Organizations Worldwide

Happy Thanksgiving From Youth Workin’ It!

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Thanksgiving youth work
Mmmmmmmmmm…………..

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Shae and I are away in Ohio at the moment visiting a couple of sets of friends, so we’re having a great time. Today, we’re planning on eating a whole bunch of turkey, candied yams and all the other good stuff you traditionally eat at Thanksgiving. Coming from the UK, this is the type of holiday I can definitely get on board with!

We don’t have a regular post today, but we’ve written a couple of Thanksgiving-related posts before so check them out below. As tomorrow’s Black Friday, we’ve also linked to the post we wrote last year about how to set up your youth work programs to help your young people to consume less.

Anyways, whether you’re in the US celebrating Thanksgiving or in another country and just having a regular day, we hope you have an awesome day no matter what šŸ™‚

 

5 Thanksgiving Activities For Students To Get Them Thinking

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Thanksgiving activities for students
If nothing else, your young people can be thankful their parents don’t have a baby photo of them dressed like this

Thanksgiving is a perfect opportunity for getting young people to reflect on everything they have, particularly on a global scale.

This week’s youth work session plan ideaĀ therefore has some Thanksgiving activities for students to get them thinking about money, family, friends, freedom, possessions and anything else that they might take for granted. These ideas can be used no matter what size your youth group is or could also be used in a school lesson.

Thanksgiving Activity 1

Give each of the students a stack of post-it notes and a pen. Ask them to write down things that they’re thankful for, with one thing on each post-it. n.b.Ā Don’t offer any suggestions of things they should be thankful for at this stage.

After about 5-10 minutes, get all the young people to stick the answers they have on a wall.

Thanksgiving Activity 2

Once they’ve stuck their post-it notes up, have the students watch a video that focuses on poverty around the world. There are all kinds of videos you could use – full-length movies, documentaries, charity appeals, etc.

Another option would be to use the two videos below. They’re both about 4 minutes long, but should get them thinking about how fortunate they are compared to billions of other people. (Thanks to Terry Linhart who’d brought the videos to my attention viaĀ Ken Castor’s blog).

Thanksgiving Activity 3

After they’ve watched whatever video you’ve chosen to use, repeat the first activity – have the students write down anything else they can think of that they’re thankful for. There’s a good chance that the video will prompt a number of additional answers.

Thanksgiving Activity 4

There should now be many different answers stuck to the wall. Read some (or all) of them out and discuss with the students why they’re thankful for all these things.

Thanksgiving Activity 5

The previous four activities should have helped your young people realize that they have a lot they can be thankful for, especially compared to other people around the world.

If the youth are feeling empathetic towards those who are less fortunate than they are, discuss ways in which they can do something to make a difference. This could include:

  1. Taking part in a 30 Hour Famine
  2. Organizing a youth group fundraiser, where the proceeds are given to a charity
  3. Planning a Slum Survivor weekend retreat
  4. Identifying ways they can volunteer in the local community
  5. Setting up their own charity or non-profit that addresses a cause that they’re passionate about

Question: Do you have any other ideas of good Thanksgiving activities for students? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below

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Create Youth Programs That Help Youth Consume Less

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Today is ‘Black Friday’ in the US. The day after Thanksgiving when everyone lines up for hours to buy their Christmas gifts and take advantage of discounts and sales.

While there’s nothing wrong with any of these things, it does highlight the consumer society that most youth in more economically developed countries are growing up in.

How about in your youth programs? Are you helping your youth to identify changes they can make that will set them apart from their peers, and help them develop a lessĀ consumer-focusedĀ approach toĀ theirĀ lives?

Here are a few little ways you can help your youth consume less during your youth programs.

  1. Offer recycling bins for cans, bottles and paper
  2. Give the youth a budget to plan an activity and teach them how to research getting the best prices and how to scale back their plans based on their budget
  3. Have technology-limited sessions by creating activities and session plans that don’t need expensive devices to make them happen
  4. Plan activities and sessions that focus on creating empathy in your youth by looking at the conditions of youth living in less-economically developed countries

Question: What other ideas do you have? Create a conversation in the comments below.

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Thanksgiving Day – Youth Fighting Hunger Around The World

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Thanksgiving youth workIt’s Thanksgiving Day in the US and Americans all around the world are celebrating with a huge feast (yes, yes, you can start all the American eating/food jokes now). I love spending the day with friends and family, being thankful and enjoying all the traditions that come with this holiday.

But there are people all around the world – both Americans and non-Americans – who are hungry today. Who don’t know where their next meal is going to come from. Today we put aĀ Spotlight on Youth who have been impacted by and made an impact on famine.

World Vision provides an opportunity for youth around the world to raise money to help end famine. The 30-Hour Famine is a weekend of activities and fasting to learn more about famine and to raise money to make a difference.

Take a few minutes to read about where hunger exists around the world. You can also read about a group of youth who raised over $5000 for Haiti.

World Vision can be found around the globe through their international offices. No matter where your youth are, you can participate in a 30-hour famine of your own. Do you think the youth in your program might like to get passionate about famine this Thanksgiving? Learn more aboutĀ famineĀ andĀ plan your own 30-hour famine.

Question: How do the youth in your programs help the hungry? We’d love to hear about the impact they’re making in the comments below.

You can also connect with us by:

  1. Signing up to receive our postsĀ via email
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