Covenants vs. Contracts

I never ask youth to sign any behavior contracts before retreats, overnights, or service trips.  Our youth are used to signing them for everything and they have learned at best to ignore them, and at worst to violate them.  Before such events ARE held however, we talk as a group about our hopes and expectations, fears and concerns about the activity or event, and leaders remind the group about what is expected of them and why. Sometimes, we have three or four meetings for youth to talk prior to our service trips. Each youth is then asked to write his/her own covenant, which we read aloud and anonymously before or throughout the activity (peer pressure used for good, not evil!). These covenants are taken VERY seriously by the youth as the following representative samples from our last service trip show.  

"Going to New Orleans this year with the youth group is an honor and a privilege for me. Having just visited New Orleans last April before the Hurricane disasters, I was moved in a unique way by the damage of the storms, and I feel a very strongly about helping those who lost so much this past summer. As my fourth and final trip with the group, I am glad we are able to make a trip that promises to be so meaningful both for me personally as well as for those in desperate and immediate need of help.

It's basically rhetoric at this point, but I can guarantee that I won't do anything stupid to compromise this opportunity either for myself or others. No drugs, no sex, whatever. I don't really worry about this though (nor have I ever), because I know that the people in the group are respectful individuals, and care enough about these experiences not to ruin them. Obviously any rules like that that we are given to abide by will be followed... no question.

More than just following the "rules", I hope that people can be true to themselves, and respectful to others on this trip. its important to open up to the group in situations like these, and it is equally important to let others open up back without any fear of criticism or judgment. This year's group has a lot of younger WUSYs, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better over the course of the week. I remember my first trips with the group, and how excited/nervous I was about them, and I hope that I can be as welcoming and fun for the people who feel like I did as people made me feel back in Anniston and Mount Vernon. In general, I just hope people can get along on this trip. These experiences are really the best thing that I have to remember from high school, and not just for the work I've done, but also for the memories I have and the bonds that I made with the people I worked (and played) alongside.

Also, I consider the reputation of our group around this country to be very important, and I would hate for this year, of all years, to be one where we screw it up! The hurricane disasters are a very serious matter that have seriously altered peoples lives. Our trip to New Orleans is to help these people first and foremost. Everyone in the group needs to remember this, and put in their all to accomplish the most that we can. We all need to be respectful of those who we are helping, in every way, and not lose sight of the fact that this disaster is their daily reality, not simply our chance to travel on our winter break. As a group, I think it is important that we make sure to always act respectfully, and really try to gain an understanding and appreciation for the Katrina tragedy. I feel as though a lot of what I hear on the news is that people feel like the nation just does not care... I want the people we encounter to feel that we GENUINELY care about their problems, and helping them pull through.

I know this year's trip has the potential to be as great or better than in years past, and we are all lucky to have such a unique and meaningful opportunity to do something VERY important. Basically, I just hope everyone makes the best of this opportunity on and off the work site. It looks like we have a strong group this year, and I know we can accomplish a lot in New Orleans, and be as badass as we have proven ourselves to be in years past!" - a senior

"To be brutally honest, I have no idea what to expect. Not only have I never been harmed by such destruction, I’ve haven’t even seen it in person. Hell, the most “destruction” I’ve seen is a couple of feet of snow and maybe a bolt of lightening or two. What does it feel like, look like, sound like, or even smell like? It’s something I’ve never really thought about before. The simple answer is, “It’s devastating, it’s terrible,” (preferably said in a “dufus” voice), but can two adjectives encompass what people who loose everything feel like? We are all about to find ourselves in an area where people know all these answers. How do I want to be viewed by these people? What do I want these people to think of our group? The point of this trip for me is to accomplish set goals for the group, the community, and for myself. It is test for all of these various parties. I think the group should feel a lot of pressure to make sure this trip is successful. One of the most important aspects of the trip, in my opinion, is that we leave the victims feeling as if someone cares, and hopefully a sense of hope. Its something that only human contact can accomplish. We want to be seen as kind, interesting and respectful young adults, and for this to occur, everyone needs to pitch in. The group needs to mold into one unit, everyone helping one another, so as one, we can help the victims. It is going to be a great week, and hopefully we will be able to have as profound a change on the people of New Orleans, as they will upon us. And when we leave the work site for the last time at the end of the week, our actions toward or around the victims will decide whether we will be forever remembered as “that” group, or “the” group. The opportunity we have been given has potential to make a lasting difference in the lives of many people, and that is what brings me to myself. The feeling I get from helping people who I would have never come into contact with under normal circumstances, is what makes these trips the most satisfying. While the new friendships and experiences I will have gained are very rewarding, nothing compares to what it feels like to walk away from the worksite, look back at it, and realize that you have made a difference." - a sophomore

"I promise first of all to respect everybody in the groups’ space, since I understand nobody is going to have very much and it may result in short fuses and tempers. I recognize that even the slightest bit of conflict due to these reasons would be counterproductive in an area where we need total cooperation to make any real difference. Any problems that do come up between members of the group I will resolve as quietly as possible so that the overall flow of the trip doesn’t become disrupted, hopefully on a one-on-one basis with the person. Any problems with people outside the group or questions I will try to resolve with that person or by talking to an adult immediately, before they escalate.

I will do the jobs given to me without complaint and without nosing in the business of the overseers of the rip and of the relief organization, who truly understand what needs to be accomplished, unless they solicit my opinion. In other words, I will be a faithful working stooge. I will be especially careful with tools and materials, as many of them I will never have worked with before, and I will be extremely conscientious about wearing masks and other protective clothing whenever necessary. I understand that I’m responsible not just for my own safety but also the people I’m working with, and I’ll make sure not to endanger or harm them due to carelessness. I will also be very careful about keeping my personal items organized and not holding up the group for personal reasons.

Most of all I want to WUSY G to represent itself as a group very hard workers who are more toward the adult end of the spectrum than the youth end. I think because of our numbers and the brightness of the group members that we have perhaps more potential to help than any other faction taking the trip or that will be working with us in New Orleans. I want people to look back at our time there thinking that we lived up that potential and were an absolutely vital presence while we were there. I don’t at all doubt the maturity of every member of the group. I’m sure each member of the group will be as serious about the job put as much effort into it as they put into school and their other concerns back home. I’m worried mostly that people won’t take the opportunity during the trip to sit alone (at least in mind if not in body) and try to absorb completely the magnitude of what they’re facing, even of they’re unsuccessful. I feel like in order to work in earnest and to apply ourselves fully, we need to give this idea the opportunity to hit home. Facing the damage alone in their mind will give people an idea of the sense of isolation that is incomprehensible even while on site, as long as they are the in the company of the rest of the group. I think only then can they get even a hint of what it was like for the people who lived in the area during the storm." - a junior