West Philly Youth Need Your Help!

First let me apologize for posting something other than pictures of baby Hazel, we'll get back to that soon! I feel like a guest blogger on my family's blog since Sara does most of the blogging, but I wanted to tell you about a project that we are part of that needs some help.

As many of you know, I have been blessed with the amazing opportunity to serve as a leader in our Church’s youth program here in West Philadelphia. Each of our young men and women have independently made a commitment to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ despite the extremely difficult circumstances that surround them. Only a lucky few live with other members of the Church and most live in single parent homes that struggle to provide basic necessities. Sadly, a few of the youth have undeservingly struggled with abandonment, drug, verbal, and even physical abuse in their homes. While we all might agree that membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the most important thing in our lives, membership in the Church and its youth programs offers many of our youth the greatest source of happiness, hope, and genuine love that they have yet experienced in their young lives.

As Church youth leaders and organizers of Philadelphia Latter-day Saint Youth, we are dedicated to furthering the experiences that our youth can have in the Gospel. We understand that these amazing kids have a few short years to solidify their testimonies before beginning their adult lives. We truly believe our organization can help its youth participants set a course for lifelong happiness from service and activity in the Church. To this end, our program provides our youth the opportunity to attend the Especially for Youth (EFY) program in Provo, Utah. This year marks the second year a group of youth will attend. Last year’s trip was a stunning success. The spiritual growth that our youth experienced from EFY and their interactions with many families in Utah has been awe-inspiring. This was all made possible by your generous donations!

This year, 14 of our youth have been accepted into the July 13th session of EFY in Provo. Sadly, in our efforts to raise money, we have come close to covering the EFY tuition, but haven't begun to receive enough donations to purchase airline tickets. We still need to raise a significant amount in order for our youth to be able to make it to EFY this year. If you find yourself in a position to help our cause, please visit www.PhillyLDSYouth.blogspot.com where you can either make a secure credit card donation or find the address where you can send your tax-deductible donation. In addition, one major way that you can assist us in our efforts is to spread the word to those you know that may be interested in helping. Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding our program. Thanks in advance for any help that you may be able to offer our youth this year.