Dear Support Team,
Q: Where might you find 40+ grown adults playing the old playground game “steal the bacon” with a rubber chicken at midday in Lodi?
A: The One-Eighty, of course!
Each month, we (Jake and Aly) are privileged to host our entire team for an“All Staff” Training. Everyone from our college-aged interns to mental health clinicians with 30+ years of experience all gather together for a 2-hour meeting filled with fun, encouragement, and training. The All-Staff has become one of our favorite parts of the job. It serves as a reminder of just how much God has done through this little organization. Each time we gather, we’re humbled to remember the kinds of dynamic, gifted individuals he’s brought together to serve the young people of this community, and blown away as we hear the stories they bring back from the field. We do our best to give them fuel for their mission and create space for them to collaborate and build each other up. It really is a special time.
This past week, after a spirited game of “valentines day trivia,” we took the team through a vision-casting exercise. Jake began by reminding the team of our faith-based roots. As followers of Jesus, we seek to model our presence in the world after his own. One of the defining characteristics of Jesus was his compassion. In the Bible Jesus is often described as being “moved with compassion”—literally, moved in his stomach—when he sees someone hurting, sick, or in need. At One-Eighty, we encourage our staff to be paying attention when we’re likewise “moved with compassion.” When there is gang violence, when a student runs away, when a family is in danger of breaking apart, whatever the case may be, we need to allow our hearts to break when we see it. After all, to experience that pain is to feel just a tiny fraction of what Jesus feels alongside us when He sees the same.
In the next part of the exercise, Alison guided the groups through a discussion on what is “moving them” in their counseling practices, on school sites, in the neighborhoods, and at the teen center. Their responses let us know that they are indeed paying attention. From their work, they identified issues such as lack of teenage self worth/value, lack of opportunity for work for young people, a loss of societal emphasis on family/parenting, and a lack of hope. Some of the stories they shared around their tables were truly heartbreaking, but not a single member of the team was daunted. They were all optimistic that a difference could be made, which made the final evolution of the exercise really fun.
The final question for them to wrestle with was this: If we were given a million dollars to spend to meet the needs that move you, how would you spend it? It was so powerful to wander around and listen to each group begin to dream. An “intentional family program” was envisioned by our youngest staff members, where aspects of our organization would be reoriented to families rather than just teens. Our community development folks came up with a program designed to increase social mobility in our east-side neighborhoods, with job training and the opening of one or more businesses in the neighborhood that would employ young people. Our clinicians were also all about rebuilding and restoring families, with a transitional living home (or series of homes) at the center of their plans. Families would receive intensive mentoring, and the whole program would exist in partnership with the school district so that everyone was working for the success of the family.
They came up with all that in less than 20 minutes!
We share all this with you because as our supporters, you need to know that the people you have working for this organization are amazing. They are doing far more than just a job here. They work hard, think critically, and are completely bought into the mission. They are integrated with one another, working together to bring true hope and transformation to the young people and families we serve. Perhaps most importantly, they understand what each dollar means to this organization. When given the opportunity to spend a million bucks, not a single one of them came up with an idea that seemed silly or superfluous.
Each time these people come together, we are reminded once again of the special thing God has done and continues to do here in Lodi. As always, none of it happens without you. Thank you for giving us the support we need to lead and serve these amazing people!
Serving our Youth,
Jake and Alison McGregor
Executive Co-Directors
One-Eighty Programs
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