Youth Frontiers - Courage, Kindness, and Respect

This was the second time Youth Frontiers had been invited to Worthington. Because the Kindness Retreat was so effective, Youth Frontiers was invited to come again and present their Courage Retreat. According to Nobles County Integration Collaborative (NCIC) coordinator Sharon Johnson, "Courage can be acts that you see people do every day. For some students, if they're victims of bullying, going to school is a challenge." She commended Youth Frontiers, stating, "They have a remarkable way of engaging the youth." She explained that when the students from the different schools initially came together on the first day, they were very separated and stuck with their own school group. By the end of the second day, they left the retreat as one large group.

The retreat begins with a welcome and group-building activities related to the theme of the day. Thereafter, there are presentations, large and small group activities, and small group meetings to reflect on the lessons learned and ways to apply them. Near the end, the students are given time to process the information that's been presented, followed by the kids committing to take an action based on the retreat topic.

This final activity of the retreat was perhaps the most powerful, Johnson said. It was called "Pebbles in a Pond." A Youth Frontiers coordinator told them that every act of courage is like tossing a pebble into a pond. It causes many ripples that go out and touch many other people in its path. The students were then asked to write down one act of courage they were ready to commit to for the rest of the year. They then each read aloud their act of courage and dropped a pebble into a bowl of water on the floor.

According to Youth Frontiers, an independent study showed that two months after Youth Frontiers' Courage Retreats, 70% of participants follow through with their act of courage and 71% feel better able to act with courage in a moment of decision.