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Youth Frontiers Goes to Camp

By Sarah Barchus, Youth Frontiers Communications Specialist

We are all about building community at Youth Frontiers, and sometimes we take that part of our mission very literally. Last Monday, our staff traveled to Camp Tanadoona, where we spent the afternoon building a challenge course, renovating the facilities and packing healthy snacks for the next wave of hungry campers.READ MORE

Doing Good Together

Doing Good Together: 50 Family Acts of Kindness

By Sarah Aadland, Doing Good Together

If you’re awake and near a screen, it’s likely you’re feeling a sense of urgency. The endless connectivity of our devices can’t help but give us an endless feeling of lagging behind. Whether your anxiety is generated by an overflowing workload, bulging schedule or the ongoing parade of alarming headlines, now is a great time to take a breath. Find your inner quiet, and focus on family acts of compassion right in your own community.READ MORE

Youth Frontiers Retreat Musician performs on a Respect Retreat

Aña’s Story

By Debra G, Youth Frontiers Retreat Musician

I first met Aña* at a Courage Retreat for Fridley Middle School’s eighth graders around 13 years ago. It was the school’s first Courage Retreat, and the space we held it in was dark and almost too small for the number of students who participated that day.

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Raedean_Greater Expectations

Greater expectations

By Raedean Foote, Youth Frontiers School Relations Representative

“If a child grows up never seeing themselves represented [in the media] as successful or as the hero, then they are the anomaly if they succeed and the expectation if they fail.” – Yara Shahidi

By this standard, society definitely expected that I would fail. To start, I was born to an unwed white mother and a black father, and in the early 80s, being racially mixed didn’t feel “normal.” Aside from my brother, it’s hard to recall other multiracial children in my neighborhood, classroom or even at the grocery store – forget about seeing someone on TV who had the same shade of skin as I did. I grew up in a single-parent household, in subsidized housing, and in the free-and-reduced lunch program. As a kid with my background, it was hard to identify with those society portrayed as successful.
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Planning A Family Vacation Can Build Money Skills

By Nathan Dungan, Youth Frontiers Board Co-Chair

Have you ever thought about using a family vacation as a way to help build important financial skills?

There is great value in coming together as a family to plan, budget, research and save for a vacation. It’s a process that gives everyone a clear view of the possibilities and parameters, and it’s your best opportunity to get everyone engaged in the experience.READ MORE

Hannah and her grandpa, the new kid

New Kid

By Hannah Tjoflat, Youth Frontiers Lead Retreat Facilitator

Imagine. It’s the first day of school. Your outfit is strategically picked out. Your backpack is packed. You’re about to leave your house and… you’re brand new to the school. READ MORE