ATN Clubs at Local High Schools
This past Wednesday was “Club Fair” day at some of the local High Schools in Jacksonville, and we had some representation at 2 of those schools…Ponte Vedra High and Bartram Trail High. These clubs are going to be great because it will give students a chance to earn community service hours from All Things New while at the same time helping other kids who are about the same age (14 of the 21 kids who live at All Things New are 14 years old or older). I cannot wait to see the excitement that high school students will bring to our ministry and the increased awareness that people will have of All Things New because of these clubs.
I do not want to get too far in this blog before naming and thanking the 2 students who started the clubs at these 2 schools. Maclane Fisher at Ponte Vedra High and Josh Lindblom at Bartram High. We have also heard a 3rd club at Stanton High might be started and we will let you know more about this when it happens.
Maclane is a senior, and he came up with the idea of the clubs. He attended a fundraiser and then went around in his own neighborhood collecting donations for the kids. Maclane hopes to come up with ideas to help us raise funds and get people excited about the ministry.
Josh is a freshman, and has a plan on how he hopes this club will grow over the next 4 years. He is hoping to do 1 service project per month for the ATN kids this year.
Ponte Vedra had 50 students sign up for the club and Bartram had 116! What a great turnout for something that could be really great for our organization and for the kids who join. One of our main values is that we want to help change lives of people in Haiti and America, and Josh and Maclane are really helping us to accomplish both goals!
Carrie Bedard, one of our board members and an incredibly creative marketer and fundraiser, owns Soar 2 Success Consulting and helps students do the things necessary to attend the colleges they want to attend. She works with both Josh and Maclane and has been instrumental in helping to spread the word about ATN and to get these clubs started.
The truth is, you never know where a good idea is going to come from, and I am excited to see where Maclane and Josh’s hard work and boldness will take them. I know when I was their age that this type of ministry was not at the forefront of my mind, and I know GOD will bless their clubs.
If you are a high school student, parent of a high school student, or youth pastor and you would like more information about what they are doing through these clubs or how to start one yourself, please let us know. I am sure Maclane and Josh would be more than happy to share more about what they are doing.