New Beginnings 2015

Tonight we had our New Beginnings (NB) program for Young Women’s. The class presidencies decided earlier this month when we met that they wanted to use the 2015 youth theme for our theme of NB. They also decided that it would be great to have all the info we go over be on a power point slide show to help everyone read along w/ it and make it more interesting. 2 of our awesome Young Women put together the power point presentation for us, and it was a big hit. Another added bonus that we hadn’t even thought of at the time was that there is a deaf mother in our ward, so she was able to read the slides and know what we were talking about. Here’s our whole group of girls that were there tonight.

I wanted to share a few things we did, since I know it’s helpful to have some ideas. I am all about SIMPLICITY, so we kept it very basic. Out in the hall when people walked in we had this blue anchor on the table (I got it for 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby). We also had some packets that had the program, big events for the upcoming year (like our youth temple trip, girl’s camp, etc), and a list of the personal progress experiences & projects. It is SO NICE to have a secretary who took care of all the paper packets.

She also put together this cork board that has each girl’s name listed & which value experiences & projects they have done, and which ones they still need to do. We had her explain it to the parents & girls during the program. You can also see the TV is set up w/ the power point presentation. For the banner hanging from the chalkboard we just strung some jute & hung the embark subway print craft the girl’s did last week from the jute w/ clothespins.

Here is our refreshments table. Again, we kept it very simple. I got a blue plastic table cloth from Party City. We used paper goods (napkins, bowls, cups) that we already had in the closet. I got the drink dispenser from WalMart, b/c I know I’ll get really good use out of it. I got the big red wooden anchor as the same time as the blue one for 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby.

I am such a HUGE FAN of Costco cakes. They had this sailboat one that went along perfectly w/ our theme & I just had them write “Emark” on it. It fed everyone w/ a little bit left over and it was just $18.99. For sure the way to go when feeding a crowd.

I bought that big glass fish bowl at WalMart in the pet section for just $5.97. We filled it w/ goldfish crackers. The little glass jars are from the $1 Store & the gummy fish are from the bulk section of Winco. We just tied life saves onto a piece of jute and tied that around the bowls. Super simple, but it gave it added a great touch.

For the drink we had blue “ocean water.” It was just blue raspberry Kool Aid. We also had regular water in smaller pitchers for those who didn’t want a sugary drink.

I am very happy w/ how the whole evening turned out. The program wasn’t too long, we were able to share a lot of info w/ the young women & parents, and we introduced the 5 girls that will be moving up to Beehives this year (turning 12 years old). I am SO THANKFUL to have such amazing women in the presidency with me. They are “doers” that just jump in and help and don’t wait to be told something needs to be done. We had everything cleaned up and done in no time at all. Plus, we didn’t have to wait around for any of the young women’s rides to show up b/c all the parents were already there! WOOT WOOT!

When we got home, there was a wrapped present on the porch. It was from Shannon (the former Young Women’s president) and inside was this beautiful artwork. It’s the young women’s theme & around it are pictures of different faithful women from the Bible & church history. There was also the sweetest note from Shannon that left me w/ tears just streaming down my cheeks. Even though this is a hard & demanding calling (especially as a single Mom), the blessings & benefits far outweigh the hardships. I feel so much love & support, and am honored to get to serve w/ such strong & valiant people. My spiritual cup runneth over.