Junior Youth Group Animator
LOCATION
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
Training required which may significantly delay start of service hours or which needs to be completed prior to the start of the semester.N/A
SCHEDULE OPTIONS
Semester availability
FallSpring
Summer
Service hours
MorningAfternoon
Evening
Weekend
Available days/hours
Study/Training - Monday-Sunday 8am-10pm; obviously times available for training are very flexible and are dictated by the needs of the individuals choosing to serve.
Junior Youth Group service - Monday-Friday 3pm-7:30pm; Saturday-Sunday 11am-7:30pm; The times of the Junior Youth groups are based on the availability of the the "intern" serving as the "animator", and of the junior youth participating in the group.
REQUIRED/DESIRED SKILLS
Those choosing to serve should choose this program based on a desire to serve the community, as opposed to a desire to gain "credit" for their report card or resume. For those who choose to serve as an animator of a Junior Youth Group it must be know that the desired length of service is 3 years. Clearly for those participating in the program through this course may not be willing or able to commit for this amount of time, therefore part of their planning process should include accompanying someone to transition in as animator in their place as they end their "term of service". Those choosing to serve in this program will also be asked to do a minimum of two Ruhi books as part of their training, but may also choose to continue their study in order to build their capacity as animators and to enhance their understanding of spiritual concepts and how they relate to their lives as individuals and as members of society.
CATEGORIES
MentoringYouth III: 11-14 years (6th-9th grades)
COMMUNITY PARTNER
Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program
ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP
Duties
- Each individual Junior Youth Group (which consists of about ten junior youth-age 11 to 14-each) is facilitated by one or two youth age (15+) "animators."
- At the fundamental level, every person involved in the process learns about the skills needed to empower junior youth to strive to reach their potentials through group study of a series of books published by the Ruhi Institute, an educational institute under the guidance of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'i community of Columbia.
- Within a "cluster," or city-area (i.e. East Valley, Phoenix, etc.) of junior youth groups, support networks are set up, wherein several more experienced animators empower the other animators to develop their leadership qualities, and communication and organizational skills. We will refer to those serving in this capacity as "accompaniers."
- "There is every indication that the programme engages their expanding consciousness in an exploration of reality that helps them to analyse the constructive and destructive forces operating in society and to recognize the influence these forces exert on their thoughts and actions, sharpening their spiritual perception, enhancing their powers of expression and reinforcing moral structures that will serve them throughout their lives. At an age when burgeoning intellectual, spiritual and physical powers become accessible to them, they are being given the tools needed to combat the forces that would rob them of their true identity as noble beings and to work for the common good." - The Universal House of Justice, Ridván 2010, from paragraph 16
Population served
This program is specifically for Junior Youth ages 12-14, but it's purpose is to serve as a community building activity involving everyone in the neighborhood/community on a different level. However for the purposes of this class, the interns would be working specifically with the Junior Youth in a given neighborhood/community.
Community need/impact
"At an age when burgeoning intellectual, spiritual and physical powers become accessible to them, they are being given the tools needed to combat the forces that would rob them of their true identity as noble beings and to work for the common good."
- The Universal House of Justice, Ridván 2010, from paragraph 16
"The rapid spread of the programme for the spiritual empowerment of
junior youth is yet another expression of cultural advance in the
Baha'i community. While global trends project an image of this age
group as problematic, lost in the throes of tumultuous physical and
emotional change, unresponsive and self- consumed, the Baha'i
community--in the language it employs and the approaches it adopts--is
moving decidedly in the opposite direction, seeing in junior youth
instead altruism, an acute sense of justice, eagerness to learn about
the universe and a desire to contribute to the construction of a
better world. Account after account, in which junior youth in
countries all over the planet give voice to their thoughts as
participants in the programme, testifies to the validity of this
vision. There is every indication that the programme engages their
expanding consciousness in an exploration of reality that helps them
to analyse the constructive and destructive forces operating in
society and to recognize the influence these forces exert on their
thoughts and actions, sharpening their spiritual perception, enhancing
their powers of expression and reinforcing moral structures that will
serve them throughout their lives. At an age when burgeoning
intellectual, spiritual and physical powers become accessible to them,
they are being given the tools needed to combat the forces that would
rob them of their true identity as noble beings and to work for the
common good."
- The Universal House of Justice, Ridván 2010, paragraph 16
