Banquet Speech: Parker Thurston

First off, I want to say congratulations to everyone sitting here right now. I know how hard it is to give up some weekend time for volunteering or meetings, but everyone here was dedicated enough to get out of bed or put down the Xbox controller to do something that is really special. This organization is one like no other and we all are blessed to be a part of it. The uniqueness of making lifelong friends and memories while doing something good for the community is incredible to say the least. I think more people should do volunteering as an experience. It is challenging, it takes hard work, dedication, and passion to do something like that. 

Volunteering is also a really good eye opener. Especially in Fort Collins, you don’t really see how bad people are forced to live and how much help they really need. In YMSL not only are you able to see, but help, the people that are less fortunate than us. Really, there are people out there whose conditions are way beyond our heads. We are so lucky to be this fortunate and live this well, but we help. We don’t stand by we go in and we help. This might sound cheesy, but it all pays off for me to see the smiles on their faces. 

I was volunteering at Project Self Sufficiency and we started helping the balloon guy do his thing and draw faces on the balloon animals and all that, but when we started handing those balloons out the children's faces just lit up. It made me so happy to think that something so simple could make someone’s day. That’s the real beauty of volunteering right there is that simple things can be just as powerful as the bigger things. 

I also did the Honor Flight For Veterans and we went there and held signs to tell them how much we appreciate them. That was it. The real heart comes from taking that time out of your day to make those people feel good. That’s what we accomplished. One last example, we did A Night to Shine. What an experience. We went to do paparazzi, but as the job became crowded, we went to cheer them on a karaoke and help them at the photo booth. We weren’t building stuff and grinding all day for a big product. We were just there kind of floating and cheering and generally being nice, but it was because we were all there that we made a night just for them and that they got to enjoy. 

What I want everyone to take out of YMSL is the teamwork and dedication that we use so we can make other people’s lives better while spending time with our amazing moms. Speaking of which I want to recognize all the moms on the Banquet Committee and the ones that help us with meetings and philanthropy. You guys work just as hard as we do and we all appreciate your work to help YMSL run as smoothly as it does. This organization is full of greatness and the fact that it is spreading across the nation and more people are helping others is amazing and I can’t wait to see you all next year so we can continue that greatness.

Banquet Speech: Luke Cunning

Welcome! The communications committee decided to dust off the YMSL Fort Collins blog, and for our first post of the 2018-2019 year, we're sharing Rocky Mountain High School senior Luke Cunning's speech from the banquet in May:

I would like to start by saying that when my mom first signed me up for YMSL I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had no idea how far it would take me or how much I would grow from it. After my first year I considered quitting because I kept telling myself “This is too much work” or “I don't have time to do this.” But despite this I decided to stay to make my mom proud. Needless to say I am grateful that I am still here standing in front of all of you today.

Since then I have realized that YMSL is more than just something I can do to make my mom proud, or even to have something to be proud about. It’s not about having something extra to put on a resume or college application. It’s not about spending time with friends, though I have enjoyed working with all of you these last three years. YMSL is about the people you help along the way and the connections you make with those people.

My fondest memory I have from YMSL is working on the ultimate gift project for the learning house. I was working on the stairs and the decks to the front and back of the house all day and not working on much else. By the end of the day I looked around and realized how much work had been done. In the span of only a few short hours of hard work we had managed to help the owners of the learning house with renovations that would last years to come. This also leaves an impact on all the kids who attend the learning house so they have a nicer place to learn and be kids. What I learned from this experience was that we can achieve great things when we work together.

YMSL has given me opportunities that I never would have thought possible without it. I would like to finish by thanking everyone here for working hard and making this year amazing. I would also like to thank all of the moms for supporting your sons and for always being someone to look up to.

Reflecting on our First Year at YMSL

By: Katy SayersYMSL Mom

Class of 2021

While I like to think that my son and I have always had a great relationship and connection, YMSL has served to strengthen that bond.  As we have learned about a variety of local charities and tried different types of service, I have realized some new qualities about Jackson.  Like any teen, Jackson loves to sleep in on a weekend. But not once has he complained about getting up early to help runners sign into a race, send veterans off on a honor flight, or shovel loads of rock for a landscaping project.  He's approached each opportunity as exactly that -- an opportunity for us to be together and give back to our community in some small, but meaningful way.  He's rallied many early mornings to volunteer, always with a positive attitude towards our time together in service to others.  I like that about him.  I've also come to appreciate how confident he is.  When there's a job to be done at one of the organizations we've served, he steps up and gets to work right away.  He looks around and figures out what needs to happen next.  It's cool to see that he can be proactive and helpful.  I've always been so proud of my son, but having the chance for the two of us to spend time together doing good in the world has been a great experience for both of us to be better together. 

My Favorite Volunteer Event . . . Night to Shine

By: Tyler Campbell

Class of 2019

On Friday, February 9, 2018, YMSL and many other Northern Colorado teams worked together to celebrate Night to Shine. Night to Shine is a prom night experience for people with special needs. Thanks to the Tim Tebow Foundation, 537 churches from all around the world hosted 90,000 guests. Here, in Northern Colorado, 450 guests experienced Night to Shine with the help of 1300 volunteers. This was my second year volunteering with my mom and our entire family joined us this year.

Night to Shine was full of laughter and joy. When guests arrive, they walk down the red carpet with paparazzi cheering and snapping photos. Inside, the guests take goofy pictures in the photo booth, sing their hearts out in the karaoke room, and dance the night away on the dance floor. With limousine rides, candlelight dining, and a live band, a full VIP treatment is given to each and every guest. The highlight of the night is when each Night to Shine guest gets crowned as king or queen of the prom.

I had the opportunity to volunteer in the photo booth alongside my mom and other YMSL members. We got to greet the guests, help pick out accessories to wear, and leave them with photos and memories to take home. The photo booth could have been the most popular activity with a line down the hall all night long!

The most rewarding part of volunteering at Night to Shine is seeing the smiles on the guests’ faces. It’s one night a year where they get to dance, sing, have fun, and ride limos. And according to Tim Tebow, “It's so much more than that, because maybe for the first time they realize that they’re worth it … they realize that they are special ... they realize that they are loved … there's nothing much more important than that.”

Things I have Learned about my Mom while Volunteering with YMSL 

Things I have learned about my mom while volunteering with YMSL is that she has an undying need to see me NOT sleep on my days off from school & work. She believes that I will grow in ways that I still don’t yet understand through being a part of this organization and that through serving others & going to meetings, I will expand myself in ways I won’t even know until I’m older. I am normally interested in helping others, but she feels that I also need to learn other skills like communicating on a monthly basis at leadership type meetings with people I don’t ever see outside of these times. She tells me that in the future I will thank her for this time we spend together but in reality I already appreciate how she tries to get me to be the best person I can be. It’s been fun working with her at places I wouldn’t normally even know exist.

     I learned that while my mom came from the same places that many of these people we help come from, she has overcome many obstacles that I will  never even experience in my lifetime. I learn over & over again how proud I am of her and how much she loves me. Thanks YMSL for helping me know my mom better and for giving me opportunities to serve in our community.

Kenny Robinson