The Leaders of Young Leaders' Life sleep in uncomfortable places to raise funds for Covenant House.
Young Leaders gave up their beds for one night in solidarity to homeless teens in Metro Detroit. Students collected donations from family and friends to surpass their $200 fundraising goal going to Covenant House.
"I'm going to sleep in the shower!"
"I'm going to sleep in the shower!"
I couldn't believe the excitement behind this statement when I shared that the Leaders (teen ministers of Young Leaders' Life) were going to take part in this year's Virtual Sleepout for Covenant House. The statement came from our youngest Leader and it really was an exclamation.
Why Sleep Anywhere Other Than Our Beds?
#CovenantHouse has been caring for homeless youth for quite some time. They provide substance use counseling, education, mental and medical services as well as a safe place to shelter for homeless teens. A lot of people think that homeless teenagers are only that because they have run away (as if that means they deserve to be without safety---NOPE!), but it includes those that are victims of human trafficking and those making a fresh start after their time in a juvenile detention center. And all of this takes money to sustain!
The National Sleepout is one way they raise funds for that. It is usually held outside as groups gather together to sleep on city streets in solidarity with teens that are experiencing homelessness. But #Rona. So, they adapted and declared an online version. The Leaders jumped at the chance!
The Leaders Take Charge
The Leaders had been going through a curriculum about justice called #MorethanaHashtag from the Grow curriculum (we've got a post about that too) and realized that part of seeing social justice done is seeing to it that those that don't have, get what they need. So, when approached about raising funds, they did what any self-respecting teen did---they asked their parents and guardians for money! Ok, many of them did chores to help earn the money too. Not only did that raise the money they set as a goal, they even surpassed that goal by 25%!
Work Hard, Play Hard
The Leaders hosted a Facebook Live where they shared Covenant House's mission and how that fit into God's plan for justice. They shared their strategies and invited others to donate and take part.
Just before sleeping in wet showers, cold winter seats, and hallway floors, we stayed up a little later than usual on a school night and played video games, ate snacks, watched teen musicals, and laughed at each other's Pictionary drawings!
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