Check Out Our Rebranding Reveal!

Last night was our Birthday Fiesta and, while we’re still crunching numbers, we though we would share our new logo and website with those who may not have been able to attend. In order to create our new site and simplified logo, we were able to collaborate with the Ensemble Group. They were so helpful and made the process very easy for us.

We invite you to Like our page on Facebook, Follow us on Instagram, and share our new look with friends! We are very excited about Youth Odyssey’s future going forward and hope you all are too!

“I like Youth Odyssey because through games and fun exercises, I learn teamwork, trust, leadership, and other important life skills. And in addition to learning about the skills, we go to the ropes course and on camping trips so we have a chance to use and practice these skills in a real-world setting”
– 15 year old Youth Leader

Youth Odyssey is Turning 20!

As most of you probably know by now, Youth Odyssey is turning 20 this year and we are so excited and blessed to have made it to this milestone. We know we could not have made it without the support of our community; and we thank you. To express our gratitude and show you how far we’ve come in those 20 years, Youth Odyssey is throwing a Birthday Fiesta, and you’re invited!

The event is to be held Thursday, February 9th, at the Corpus Christi Country Club from 7 pm-10 pm. This event is “Nacho Ordinary Birthday Fiesta”. There will be food, drinks, live music from the Scarecrow People and a local mariachi band. We will also be holding a “Pick Your Poison” raffle where you get the chance to win one or more bottles of a liquor or wine of your choosing. With this event everyone is a winner and guaranteed to go home with a bottle in hand, maybe more if you play your cards right. Youth Odyssey is also excited to host a small live auction with some amazing items up for grabs. You could win a dove hunting experience with dinner included, SCUBA diving certifications with airfare to an amazing diving location, a week long trip in Colorado with airfare included, box seats for a Hooks game and more. You won’t want to miss it!

“I learned to work with a group and that I should help others so that when I need help I can depend on someone else. Also, to never quit half way.” –14 Year old Male

All of that is fun and exciting but another reason for the event is to reveal our new rebranding strategy. After 20 years, Youth Odyssey has decided to try something new and with that, we will be revealing our new logo and website that we hope will help us with greater brand recognition in the community.

Youth Odyssey wants YOU to come and enjoy a fun night of music and dancing;seeing how far we’ve come in the past 20 years. We also want to say a big thank you for all of the support you have given us and help us celebrate this amazing milestone. As usual, any and all proceeds from the event will go directly back into our programs to ensure that we continue to give kids a cost free Youth Odyssey experience. We are currently still looking for sponsors for our event and if you or a business you know is interested, please either contact Youth Odyssey or click here to become a Sponsor.

If this sounds like your kind of party then join us and help us cheers to the next 20 years!

Get Involved, Volunteer

2017 is filling up fast with continued programs, new programs, more summer camps, more ropes courses, and more camping trips. We couldn’t be happier at the success we’ve been having recently and plan to continue this trend for quite some time. Luckily you don’t have to feel left out because with this expanded reach there are more opportunities for you to get involved and donate. I don’t mean monetary donations (though we happily accept those) I mean donating your time!

Youth Odyssey is always looking for volunteers to assist us with all the fun activities and programs we have going on. Potential volunteers will sit down with Youth Odyssey and discuss their interests and passions. That way, when you volunteer with us, you will be placed exactly where you want to be. Here are some of the areas where you can volunteer:

• Assisting in program sessions
• Inspire youth on our ropes course
• Join our Board of Directors
• Involve yourself in one of our committees (advisory, events, financial)
• Helping out at summer camps
• Being available for day long kayak or canoe trips
• Hike and enjoy nature on our weekend long camping trips
• Grant writing
• Accompanying us to local festivals where we have interactive booths
• Attending our week long Thanksgiving/Spring Break trips with youth leaders

Honestly there are many other ways for you to volunteer, but if I were to write them all down it’d be quite the list. You don’t have to have a ton of camping or outdoor experience, we can teach you all of that. What we want is for you to have a love for the outdoors and working with youth in order to help them better themselves. As long as you have fun, the youth will too.

Youth Odyssey trains our volunteers in how the ropes course is operated, how we run our programs and what a typical camping trip should look like. Once you fill out a volunteer application and it is reviewed, we will schedule a sit down with you to give you more information on what is expected of you. As long as we are on the same page, you are at least 18 years old, and you pass a background check, you can be a volunteer.

When you volunteer with Youth Odyssey, we guarantee a great time interacting with youth in a fun learning environment and fun trips all over the Texas Hill Country (and out of state on our longer trips). If this sounds like something you may be interested in then apply to be a Youth Odyssey Volunteer today! Ask around your schools or businesses and see if anyone else may be interested to volunteering too, the more the merrier! Help us make a difference in the lives of the youth of the Coastal Bend!

Chris Takes a Walk on the Wild Side

Chris with Bill Blodgett

In a previous post Youth Odyssey revealed our new partnership with Majesty Outdoors, a local nonprofit that uses hunting and fishing trips to connect with fatherless youth and showcases their adventures via a television show called Majesty Outdoors Television. We settled on the partnership due to having overlapping demographics in our organizations and agreed that by combining our efforts we could increase the depth of connections we create with our youth.Majesty Outdoors approached us to see if we had youth in our programs that may be interested and benefit from attending a hunting trip for a weekend. After going over options that we had in mind, Majesty Outdoors chose to select one of our youth mentors, Chris,  to join them and be filmed for their television series while gaining some great personal experiences along the way. I was able to talk to Chris about his time with Majesty Outdoors to get a better perspective of how the process works.

Chris showing some of his new duds with Becky Meyer

According to Chris, when he found out about being selected to be a part of Majesty Outdoors he was excited but “thought it was going to be a program more like Youth Odyssey” where it was “more group based rather than just one on one.” Chris didn’t realize it was going to be just him until he arrived at Cavender’s Boot City and there were no other kids there but him. The reason for meeting at Cavender’s was to outfit Chris in some essentials like dress shirts, jeans, a jacket, vest, a belt and a pair of boots. Bill Blodgett, the founder of Majesty Outdoors, was walking through the process with Chris so he wouldn’t feel too overwhelmed and giving out free fashion advice to Chris on things he thought would look good on him and how the items he was selecting can come in handy in the future as well as on their upcoming trip. Once they left Cavender’s, Chris, Bill and his wife, Cody (the camera man) and Becky (Youth Odyssey’s Executive Director) went to get something to eat before heading out to their weekend destination at Covenant Ranch in Freer, Texas.

 

They arrived at the ranch that evening and met with the guide and owners of the ranch before settling in and headed to bed. In the morning, the crew took a guide out and scouted the area while Chris and Susan, Bill’s wife, waited around for shooting practice because that evening they planned a night hunt. The first hunt didn’t prove fruitful but there was enough activity that they felt they’d get something before the weekend was up. The next morning, Saturday, everyone was up and functioning, ready for a hunt at 5:30am! It was cold and there wasn’t too much activity but since they had gotten up early they stayed pretty low key in the afternoon. They hung around the lodge and toured around the area until it was time to get back to it and have another evening hunt. This time they went “high racking,” which Chris told me was “a vehicle with a rack on the top, similar to a canopy, so you could stand and have a different perspective during the hunt.” They didn’t see any deer but quite a few Javelina’s so they set their sights on those for the evening. Chris, who had never been hunting before, used the opportunity to practice and was able to get one of the Javelina’s.

On the final day, they did another morning hunt but this time started at 4am. Chris, who never admits when it’s cold outside, said “it was really cold” so I can only imagine how low the temperature was. He said they “saw a lot of fawns, does and young bucks, but you couldn’t take the shot because there are rules about not shooting the younger bucks.” Chris had informed me that Bill and the rest had named all of the deer, which I found interesting, assuming they were names like Bob or Frank, but I understood what he meant when he recalled his bucks name, Turkey Foot, so named for an odd antler formation on its rack. They had encountered some rain that morning but Bill said that “after it rains and is cold like this they (deer) like to come out and eat and get warmed up.” Sure enough about 5-10 minutes after the rain stopped more deer started coming out, including Turkey Foot. Turkey Foot was positioned behind a tree and that made for an interesting moment where they had to pause so the camera man could to get in place for the perfect shot when Chris was going to take his shot. Eventually, Turkey Foot came out from behind the tree and Chris was able to get off one, clean shot and the buck was down.

Being his first big game hunting experience I was curious how Chris felt about it after the shot was taken. He expressed that he “was shocked and happy.” Apparently Chris had been worrying about hitting the deer in “the right spot so it wouldn’t suffer,” so he was really happy that he had “a good clean shot.” Of course they took pictures with it and it was probably an 8 year old buck or so (that was their guess) and it was 200 pounds and either a 11 or a 12 point (Chris couldn’t recall). Needless to say, I’m sure there will be some jealous hunters out there when they see these pictures.

Bill and the guide went ahead and processed the deer letting Chris know that he’d get to keep the meat. With a 200 pound deer that’s a lot of meat so I wondered if Chris had enough freezer space for so much meat. Unfortunately, he doesn’t think he will but he plans to give some to his friends who make jerky and sausage so that should help free up a little space. They also took the deer to a taxidermist and are going to do a shoulder mount of old Turkey Foot and gift it to Chris to hang on the wall of his room.

When I asked Chris about his experience he said that the program “was really good, [he] liked it a lot, it taught [him] a lot of values, and everyone was genuinely nice the whole time.” Chris said it gave him more confidence and helped him understand more on how the ecology aspect came into play. He made sure to note that “patience is key and discipline since you have to stay really still for a long time because the deer can hear your tiniest movements.” That’s what Chris found the most difficult, “having to sit still in the blind and clearing your mind when you were going to take the shot.” Bill told him to “just to breath” and that Chris found that to be helpful advice.

Since, Majesty Outdoors is a Christian based organization so it was no surprise to me when Chris mentioned “it was a very religious experience.” He said that he liked it “because he doesn’t really follow a faith and he wants to look at all of them before choosing one to follow.” Chris said that they would “usually talk about [religion]here and there and do a prayer circle for a good hunt and the ability to instill knowledge about the ecology and other values upon [him].” He said that his favorite part of the trip was the people. “Getting to meet and know them all was cool, they were all really nice.”

When I asked Chris if he’d do it again he “I definitely would. I wouldn’t even have to hunt, I’d just like to go out there and sit with them.” He also wanted to “thank Bill and Majesty Outdoors for giving him such a great experience like they did.” I let Chris know that there were opportunities for him to become a volunteer or mentor with Majesty Outdoors and he got excited stating “that [he] didn’t know that was an option but will look into it.” I hope he does because his Majesty Outdoors experience clearly had a great impact on him and I know he’d make a great mentor and volunteer for anyone else who was going through the same things.

On behalf of Youth Odyssey, I too, would like to thank Bill and Majesty Outdoors for allowing our youth to have these life changing experiences and can’t wait to keep this partnership going!

Ropes Course Renovations On The Way

In our past blogs I have touched on the topic of our ropes course renovation but have yet to explain what all that entails and how this amazing opportunity was awarded to us. Anyone who has been out to our ropes course knows that it is a wonderful and fun experience that is safe and functional but it, like all things, could use a bit of improvement. With the help of the Charity League of Corpus Christi we will be doing just that!

The Charity League of Corpus Christi (also known as Charity League), is a non-profit organization comprised of 40 women who annually raise funds for charitable projects in the Corpus Christi, Texas area. Charity League was organized in 1934 by a group of women dedicated to improving the quality of life for citizens in our community. Each year, through a detailed selection process, a different charity is chosen, and members spend many months raising funds and awareness for the selected charity. (Think of it as a job application process, you apply to a job and then you get on the short list for an interview and then possibly a second or third interview until you are the one they choose to hire for the position). Instead of an interview though,  Youth Odyssey presented our proposed project and explained how, by having partnering with the  Charity League, we will be able to make a greater impact here in our community.

Because we were asking for help with our ropes course renovations we hosted a presentation at the course. We had large presentation boards displaying the blueprints for the building we are going to build (designed by Alan Wahlers Architect). We had an external look at the building and an internal look at the building. We had also printed out small booklets for them to look at that outlined what we, specifically, we were asking for and how they would be able to help us accomplish this.

The first thing we went over was the need to renovate the ropes course: due to time and growth, we, Youth Odyssey, discovered that we needed a larger, more functional recreation center that provided indoor space to get out of the elements. Currently, during adverse weather we either have to cancel our ropes courses, which are an integral stepping stones in our program, or we have to be confined in a small space to run activities. Also due to growth, we have discovered that, in order to keep youth and private groups engaged and coming back to our ropes course, we need to offer more variety to our low and high elements. To combat these issues we plan to build a new recreation building and incorporate more elements to the course.

The new building will be 4o feet wide by 60 feet long which, during bad weather, will allow us to run activities inside. We will also have a bouldering wall along one of the sides in case the outdoor high elements aren’t an option (thunder and lightening). To keep participants safe during bad weather and hot Texas heat, this building will provide a safe, covered place indoors that will have air conditioning to cool participants off. The size of the building will also allow us to host more than one group at a time if needed and be able to host larger groups as well. Adding new elements to the ropes course will make it easier to accommodate larger groups too. In order to do this, our renovation plan calls for moving the fence line further out so we can create more space within the fence to build and improve our elements. Some of the proposed elements are the Giants Ladder, Horizontal Spider Web and a new Vertical Spider Web, rebuilding our Whale Watch, adding a Vertical Playground, the Big Finger, and a new Porthole.

After explaining and answering questions about the proposed building plan to about 20 women from the Charity League we were feeling pretty confident that we had driven home the need for the ropes course improvement and how important the ropes course portion of Youth Odyssey’s programming is to our success. We also felt that we explained how their support is just what we needed to make it a reality. A few weeks after our initial presentation it was confirmed that we had, indeed, been selected as the Charity League’s chosen organization for the 2017 year. Since only about half of the League show up for the initial presentation we hosted the entire Charity League for a second and final presentation at the ropes course so they would all be on board in how we would be working together to accomplish this momentous task.

The Charity League will be hosting their annual Style Show and Luncheon at the American Bank Center on February 16, 2017 with a reception starting at 11:00 am and the luncheon and fashion show starting at 11:45 am. You or a business you know can purchase tickets and tables at their website. They will not be selling tickets at the door so you want to be sure and purchase before the day of the event. These ladies have been working hard to promote Youth Odyssey to their connections.  In past years they have raised over $200,000 in just that one day. I don’t know how they do it but I am beyond grateful they are pushing all of their efforts in the name of Youth Odyssey and our continued success.

All the proceeds from the days events go directly back into Youth Odyssey and will be used to update and improve our ropes course. The anticipated completion date for the course renovations is the end of this 2017 year and we will be hosting a big reveal when it is completed to showcase the new elements and our new building. So stay tuned and we will keep you apprised on the success of the luncheon, the ground breaking on the new building, and continued updates until it’s completion. We are very excited and hope you all are too!

Welcome Back!

In this new year Youth Odyssey hasn’t wasted any time getting back into the old swing of things. We started our first program this week (January 3) at Leeward Homes and we will be starting our La Armada program this coming week. Both programs will span the month of January and at the end of the program they will have the to opportunity to attend a weekend long camping trip. At the end of the month, we then begin our Lexington Manor program and head back to the same Corpus Christi Independent School District middle schools that we serviced last semester.

Youth Odyssey has been going to Leeward Homes and La Armada putting on programs for years, but our Lexington Manor program has just been reestablished. Youth Odyssey used to go to the Manor before it was torn down and rebuilt by the Prospera Housing. We went back after construction was finished and put on a pilot program; a one week program, ending with a ropes course, to see if there was enough interest within the Lexington community to continue with a full length, three week program there. The response was better than we could have expected! So they are back on the regular schedule.

To help you all keep track, here is the schedule for these programs:

• Leeward Homes (starting Jan. 3-23): Canceled, we hope to return in May
  • Time: 4:30pm-6pm
  • Days: Monday-Thursday
  • Location: Meet under the covered area in the middle of the complex
• La Armada (Jan. 9-30)
  • Time: 4:30pm-6pm
  • Days: Monday-Thursday
  • Location: Behind the recreation center under the covered area
• Lexington (Jan. 30-Feb. 19)
  • Time: 4:30pm-6pm
  • Days: Monday-Thursday (Jan 30-Feb 2nd, Feb 8th, Feb 15-16th)
  • Location: Meet in front office

Our middle school programs don’t start up until the second week in February (Feb. 6th). The schedule for our middle school programs are as follows:

• Mondays (starts Feb. 6th – April 24th):
  • Haas Middle School
    • Time: 4pm-6pm
    • Location: In back by the black top
  • Cunningham Middle School
    • Time: 4pm-6pm
    • Location: Meet in the Courtyard (by the bench)

• Tuesdays (starts Feb. 7th – April 25th):
  • South Park Middle School
    • Time: 4pm-6pm
    • Location: Meet in the Cafeteria
  • Baker Middle School
    • Time: 4pm-6pm
    • Location: Meet in the Courtyard
• Wednesdays (starts Feb. 8th – April 26th):
  • Martin Middle School
    • Time: 4pm-6pm
    • Location: Meet in the Courtyard (under covered area)
• Thursdays (starting Feb. 9th – April 27th):
  • Hamlin Middle School
    • Time: 4pm-6pm
    • Location: Meet in the Cafeteria

All of the middle schools that we service will have the opportunity to attend our ropes course and have a weekend long camping trip to a local Texas State Park. We are excited to see the returning faces of our programs and to meet new participants as we start the 2017 programming year. Last semester we were able to engage with around 130 youth, which is more than the previous year. With all of our school visits lined up and with more resources going into 2017 we anticipate our upcoming semester having even more youth being a part of the programs.

We are excited and ready to take on the new year! As always if you or someone you know is interested in participating in any of our scheduled programs and have questions regarding how, please contact Youth Odyssey. Thank you and happy new year!

 

2017 Here We Come!

Youth Odyssey Founder, Kim Cox

Youth Odyssey has been making a difference in the lives of at-risk youth here in the Coastal Bend for the past 19 years; and 2017 makes it our 20th. We have come a long way from an attorney who wanted to get kids active in something other than breaking the law. When we started we maybe saw a dozen or so kids in a year and it was hard to find youth willing to participate in the program. Now we service near 1,000 youth a year and have partnerships with local schools, businesses, and other charitable organizations.

Just this year we were able to secure a spot on the Coastal Bend Day of Giving, even though it has been going on for eight years, and we have finally partnered up with the Charity League of Corpus Christi. They are going to help us raise funds to renovate and expand our ropes course.

Youth Odyssey Trip Circa 1998

Over the years we have changed up the format of Youth Odyssey and are still continuing to do so. At the start, in 1997, Youth Odyssey was aiming to get youth involved in outdoor activities and stewardship. Our founder, Kim Cox, would take youth on archaeological digs in Goliad and to his ranch for rock climbing and rappelling. He was even able to take them to Belize and be a part of an Aztec ruin archaeological dig and work side by side with trained professionals to make new discoveries. It wasn’t until later that we introduced the life skills programming and started to create partnerships with the local schools.

With each year came new programs and more youth to participate. Gaining more and more momentum with each camping trip and behavioral improvement both in and out of school. The Youth Odyssey participants started to show improvement in test scores as well, so much so that when the Corpus Christi Independent School District had to do major budget cuts over a period of a few years, Youth Odyssey was the only after school program they kept, because they believe in what we are doing and see the changes we are having in those who participate.

Living Local Summer Camp 2016

Though Youth Odyssey has grown a lot over the years, we are still a small (yet mighty) organization that is constantly looking to see where else we can make an impact. Due to this drive, in 2016, we secured another partnership with the Tuloso-Midway Independent School District and have been discussing expanding  our programs into Flour Bluff Independent School District as well. Last year was our first camp-season where we not only filled each camp but, all four camps had waiting lists!  Because of this demand and knowing we’ll have event more youth interested due to our growth, we are working to establish more summer camps in 2017. Possibly doubling up on some camps or creating completely new ones, either way we will be able to accommodate and impact a greater number of youth.

Thanksgiving Mentor Trip 2016

Also in 2017, Youth Odyssey is reformatting our youth mentor program so we can continue to foster growth within our mentors. This new and improved programming will focus on creating better leadership skills through understanding different personality types and how to best handle difficult situations. We utilize role playing and various scenarios to evaluate and discuss the different ways to overcome any challenge. We are also in the process of creating monthly, mentor only, meet ups where we can focus on different things like college preparation, and letting them know what other resources are available to them in the community. We plan to run portable team challenges with them that are geared towards more mature participants so they can learn to work with their peers in stressful situations.

Youth Odyssey was the only after school program they kept, because they believe in what we are doing and see the changes we are having in those who participate.

2016 was an amazing year of growth for Youth Odyssey, probably our most successful year to date, but with the new ideas we are aiming to implement, the completion of the ropes course renovations, and our upcoming Birthday Fiesta, 2017 looks to be an even more impressive year for Youth Odyssey and hopefully it’s a sign for years to come! So bring on 2017, we’re ready and the youth of the Coastal Bend are waiting!

“Holiday Magic”

As the holiday season is now in full swing and Christmas is just a few days away and then the New Year will be upon us, we at Youth Odyssey want to wish everyone a Happy and safe holiday season.

We know that the holidays can be a love it or hate it situation depending on how everything lines up. For example, you may have the best travel plan and plenty of time to get somewhere but then you get stuck in traffic or a flight gets canceled, and in comes the stress. There are the mall Santa pictures that can be quite the chore to get that perfect shot. Not to mention having family visit or visiting family can be incredibly stressful (it doesn’t have to be but it definitely can be). It’s always an interesting dynamic when extended family gets into the same house or room, there are a bunch of little ones running around, some want to sit and talk, and some want to watch the sports games. It can get pretty chaotic; and that’s just for those who don’t have to work on the holidays.

But through the stress of holiday travel and visits there is still that bit of “holiday magic,” no matter what was going on when I was a kid my family always loaded up the car and drove around the neighborhood to look at the various Christmas light displays.  It was so simple but so fun. No matter the stress level, it all seemed to melt away in those minutes while oohing and awing at the creativity of the displays. On the note of traveling, it can be stressful in the moment but once it’s over and you are at your destination you may be sad over the time you missed but when you arrive everyone is so happy to see you and understanding of the situation that the stress can roll right off, and you can finally start to enjoy the holidays again. Yes mall Santa pictures have been going on for what seems like forever and I feel they will keep on for a very long time and will cause both child and parent a great deal of stress while the photos are being taken, but once you get that one, not crying, smiling shot it all seems worth it and, let’s be honest, even when the best picture you get is the child bawling or looking terrified it still makes for hilarious Christmas cards and memories when they get older and, through the laughter, the stress dissipates. I don’t know how it happens but even through the most stressful of family visits you still find a way to look back on it and say things like “it was nice to catch up with Uncle So and So and to see the little ones.” People tend to look back on the crazy holidays and reminisce about “that one Christmas where….” and find a way to laugh or bond over it. For those who have to work over the holidays and deal with all the stressed out shoppers, there may have a few busy/long days ahead but it makes them enjoy the days off so much more and be appreciative of the time they were able to spend with family.

Usually by New Years the guests have gone and there is a decompression period where you start to think about the impending New Year, which again can be stressful. Whether you’re one who likes to go to the huge New Years Eve parties or the one who likes to celebrate early with the New Yorkers from the comfort of the living room, or the one who has to work, everyone stresses at least a tiny bit over their New Years plans and the upcoming New Year. Personally, I’ve never been one for New Years Resolutions, because I can never think of anything good enough to deem a resolution, but I know a lot of people do. That can be a tricky time with everyone talking about “a new year, a new me” and make resolutions left and right with the optimism of this years resolution sticking better than last years. Or perhaps you’re that rare individual who is impressively dedicated to their resolutions and you start to form a sort of attack plan in order to accomplish it. All of these are inherently stressful situations and most people are in the same boat, which could explain why people throw crazy huge parties. What better way to decompress after a stressful year and a string of stressful holiday situations than to throw or attend a party where everyone is just there to have a good time and ring in the optimism of what the new year can bring.

Enter the “Holiday Magic.” “Holiday Magic” is a powerful and surprising bit of the holidays that has a way of bringing out the optimist in people, maybe not in the moment, but in the reflection of their trip or visit or rough day at work or crazy lines at the mall Santa or deciding on a resolution. There is always something positive that can be made out of all the stresses. So no matter what your holiday season brings you I hope, and Youth Odyssey hopes, that they end with a bit of “Holiday Magic” and let some of that stress slide off. Happy Holidays!

Youth Odyssey Birthday Bash!

For those of you who follow our blog posts each week, you may remember us mentioning a Birthday Fiesta Celebration. Well, in February, Youth Odyssey is celebrating our 20th year as a nonprofit serving the at-risk population here in the Coastal Bend. We are so excited to have reached this amazing milestone and we want to share that joy by throwing a fun, informative and exciting fiesta!

Having been around for 20 years, there have been many changes since Youth Odyssey’s founding and we aim to showcase those advancements through pictures, videos, and testimonials of our adventures throughout the years (displays at the event). We also plan to outline what new ideas we will be working on and implementing in 2017 (our 20th year).

A young lady reflects on what she learned in her program: “To set goals for the activity, to keep your mind on it. It’s the same way in my life; if I keep my mind on what I need to do and focus I know I will accomplish my goals.”

 

With our 2017 plan we are striving towards even more brand recognition within our Coastal Bend community. Through brand recognition we can create a community of ambassadors that can help share our mission with others. The more people who know about us the more resources can become available to us. And with more resources, we can have a greater impact on the at-risk population here in the Corpus area. Because of this, Youth Odyssey will be revealing their rebranding package during our Birthday Fiesta Celebration! We are going to have a more functional and updated website along with a great new logo to start off our next 20 years of working in the Coastal Bend.

The Birthday Fiesta will be held at the Corpus Christi Country Club on February 9th, from 7pm-10pm. The theme is “Nacho Ordinary Birthday Fiesta” and there will be a raffle, silent auction, dance floor, live music from Flashback and a Mariachi band. The food and atmosphere will be lively as we celebrate our accomplishments that you have helped make possible through your donations and time.  

A young mans reflection  after a trip he took with our boot camp programs: Dear Donor, Thank you for giving me this opportunity to explore a part of Texas, I really enjoyed getting to know the people around me.  I have never done anything like this in my entire life, being on the water for three days, camping out, having fires, especially cooking over a fire, and being in a kayak were all new to me.  I learned that I can get along better with people if I talk to them, and that I am smarter than I think I am.  I learned how to have fun without drugs for once in my life and not get in trouble.

 

If you are feeling like this Birthday Fiesta Celebration might be something you’re interested in attending, sponsoring, or both, tickets are already available online and ready to be purchased. This is guaranteed to be a fiesta for the ages and you don’t want to miss it! We hope to see you there!

New Partnership with Majesty Outdoors!

Youth Odyssey has been making moves to create new partnerships and program-sponsors with other, like-minded, businesses and organizations and we are proud to say that we have created a new, fun and exciting partnership with Majesty Outdoors!

What is Majesty Outdoors? you may be asking. Like Youth Odyssey, Majesty Outdoors Foundation is also a 501-c-(3) non-profit organization. “Their work is focused on bringing awareness to the fatherless epidemic in our society and enacting real life change in our communities related to the growing Fatherless Generation.” Clearly an organization with a great mission but I didn’t realize how much the absence of a good father figure was until I came across these statistics:

• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes.
• 85% of youth in prison are from fatherless homes.
• 71% of high school dropouts are from fatherless homes.
• 90% of homeless & runaway children are from fatherless homes.
• It is 7 times more likely for teens from fatherless home to become pregnant.
• 75% of youth in chemical abuse centers are from fatherless homes.

When I read these I was shocked and wondered, How does Majesty Outdoors combat such high statistics? They start by reaching out to other organizations and create “Chapters” in local churches, called Generation Outdoors (i.e.Real Life Church), to see where the need is – that’s how Youth Odyssey got into the mix. “Through Generation Outdoors, a mentor training & equipping program, Majesty Outdoors Foundation is partnering with local faith communities to train men and women of faith in mentoring fatherless children in their communities. For Generation Outdoors, group activities are rooted in anything and everything outdoors and are accompanied by faith-based lesson plans, which are tailored to the group activities. The mentees receive spiritual development and the realization that there is a strong support network to increase self esteem through the mentors of Generation Outdoors.”

Thanks to their T.V. show “Majesty Outdoors TV“, most people associate Majesty Outdoors as an organization that hosts fatherless youth on once-in-a-lifetime experiences through outdoor activities like hunting and fishing. Through those mediums they are creating that fatherly bond that these kids need. They utilize the volunteers and mentors from their Generation Outdoors programs to accompany the youth on their adventures. Though Majesty Outdoors is located right here in Corpus Christi, Texas, their adventures can take them all over the United States and world. They frequently go to Florida for fishing and up into the Dakotas for different types of hunting opportunities. Nearly all of the youth that go on these adventures have never been hunting or fishing, much less out of Texas or on a TV show. The show and foundation were inspired after the founder, Bill Blodgett, had a full knee replacement and during recovery watched a ton of outdoor television.  Realizing that “There’s only so many ways you can catch a fish or harvest a deer – all of which has been done on television” there was something missing. “With a combination of his passion for the outdoors, youth ministry and the fatherless generation, Bill decided that he needed to start a television series where he is the host but the teen is the star and the storyline changes each week – Majesty Outdoors TV was born.”

So how do they find these “stars” you ask? People nominate youth, male and female, to be on the show. Once the nominations are received they look over them and select the individuals for the different episodes they have planned. When they approached Youth Odyssey about partnering with them we jumped on the opportunity. Our missions align perfectly and overlap with the youth we are impacting. Since we work with at-risk youth as well and quite a few of the youth we work with come from fatherless homes Majesty Outdoors asked us for nominations. Due to the age ranges we usually work with, our mentors were the only ones who were old enough to be nominated. So we went over mentors who we thought would enjoy these new challenges and could grow through them as well. We submitted nominations and two of our mentors, one male and one female, were selected to be showcased on  the Majesty Outdoors TV show THIS SEASON! (We will be following up with our mentors and with Bill Blodgett to interview them all on their experiences working with each other in future blogs.)

With each youth that is chosen for the show they receive a shopping spree to gain the appropriate outdoor gear that they would need on their fishing or hunting adventure. It includes jackets, shirts, pants, boots, hats, a cooler and all sorts of amazing gear to make them comfortable along the trip and it is an incredible confidence booster to the youth that receives them. Then they take them out to dinner and discuss how the next few days will go with getting picked up, where they are going, what they are doing and getting them more comfortable with the idea of being on TV and having a camera around the whole time. The next day is when it all goes down and they head out to create new experiences and lasting memories. Bill and the other volunteers work with the youth to teach them about the ins and outs of hunting/fishing. They use those teachable moments to deepen and reinforce their connections with the youth they are with and that is what sets them apart from not just other TV shows but also other organizations. As an added bonus, all youth who appear on the show will be eligible for a college scholarship after completing high school and other foundation requirements!

Through Youth Odyssey’s partnership with Majesty Outdoors we are confident that we can have an even deeper impact in the youth in the Coastal Bend. Each organization has something different to bring to the table and has created a mutually beneficial relationship. Youth Odyssey has its niche in the Coastal Bend and Majesty Outdoors, through their TV coverage, reaches the entire country. Majesty Outdoors is always looking to increase the number of youth they are impacting and so is Youth Odyssey, so by continuing to nominate our mentors and other Youth Odyssey participants we are doing just that. Youth Odyssey already has amazing statistics about how our programming is having a positive impact on the youth we work with, and so does Majesty Outdoors. With us working together those stats get even more impressive and the youth benefit that much more.

We are very excited about this new partnership and can’t wait to see how much more of an impact our combined efforts can accomplish!