Program in need of help

A
 few weeks ago, KateLynn Slaamot shared her experience with TeenPact Leadership schools at the Capitol in Cheyenne, but what you may not know is that TeenPact is in a financial crisis and could really use your help. 
I’ve participated in TeenPact for three years, and I’ve loved every minute of it. The TeenPact community is beyond compare, and I’ve never seen anything quite like it. We are a family, and I’ve made some incredible friendships with like-minded peers across the country. 
TeenPact encourages young people to get involved with politics at the grassroots level and to make a difference in their communities. But more importantly, TeenPact inspires its students to grow deeper in their relationship with Christ. It would be an understatement to say that I’ve been challenged and changed through it, and I know others feel the same way. Brooklyn Manning of Nebraska said she feels blessed to be a part of it and has been challenged to learn more about the government and its importance. 
I am so grateful to have attended the 2020 Wyoming state class in the beautiful, newly remodeled Capitol before COVID-19 took over. Sadly, 33 other state classes have been canceled due to the widespread pandemic, and TeenPact has lost so much revenue, it might not be possible for them to reopen their doors. 
TeenPact has been “changing lives to change the world” for 26 years, and I would be heartbroken to see it end, and others feel the same way. I talked with several TeenPacters across the nation, and they shared their stories with me. 
“TeenPact is a network of young people who have been linked across the country by a longing to see change in our world,” said Hannah M. “To see TeenPact in such a dire need of financial aid raises the same emotions one might feel when a person may lose a home, not just a sense of nostalgia, but of a certain family bond.” 
Many people said TeenPact offered a safe environment to share personal struggles and deepen their relationships with Christ. Leah Matthews said she was dealing with her parents splitting up shortly before her first state class, but she felt the love, support and encouragement from other students and staffers and has used her story to encourage others dealing with the same things. 
Josh Kleckner was battling depression and suicide, but when he decided to share his struggles during a TeenPact alumni event in 2017, his life was changed. 
“(I) kind of just expected them to be indifferent about it all. Instead they came around me and hugged me and prayed for me. That night, I gave my life to Christ,” Kleckner said. 
Another young woman named Alitza from Texas said she also became a Christian at TeenPact. 
“I was adamant that I would hate TeenPact, but once I got there, the people were so kind and welcoming, it was hard to dislike it,” she said. “TeenPact has truly changed my life.” 
I’ve been to other camps before, but there is something truly special and unique about the TeenPact community. Many of my closest friends are from TeenPact, and the bond we have in Christ is so incredibly powerful that it’s beyond words.  We’ve been able to encourage each other and lift one another’s spirits via Zoom and group chats, despite living miles apart during quarantine. 
“It was a whole different environment than what I was used to … everyone welcomed each other,” said Ada Ortiz. “TeenPact had just an overall overwhelming impact on my faith and my confidence.”
“When I first showed up at TeenPact, I was nervous to say the least. As a girl who cared nothing for public speaking or government, I wondered what I had gotten myself into,” Cerra Cathryn from Arkansas said. “TeenPact stretched me and grew me, and I am closer to the Lord because of it.” 
Isabel McConnell from Kansas attended as a student for two years and volunteered as a traveling staffer this year. 
“So many people ask me why I take weeks out of my life to staff classes that I don’t get paid to staff and that I have to pay to get myself to. The short answer to that is because TeenPact changed me,” McConnell said. “A deep and personal relationship with (Christ) is the most fulfilling and life-changing thing that could ever happen to me.”
There are many similar stories out there from the thousands of students involved with TeenPact, and many feel passionate continuing the ministry. So, in an effort to save it from its financial crisis, many students have started fundraising campaigns, and the TeenPact nation is coming together in a strong, beautiful way. 
“I will always be so thankful that I’ve been able to experience TeenPact, and it would be so disappointing if more kids can’t enjoy it too,” Matthews said.  
I want to encourage all of you to stand with us to save TeenPact. As you can see, it has touched the lives of many, and I can tell you from personal experience that many kids in Wyoming (and even Weston County) share similar testimonies. 
TeenPact needs $391,000, and in one week, we were able to raise collectively as a nation over $60,000. If you would like to contribute to this cause, you can visit teenpact.com. Donations can be made on the website, or through my Fund Easy page under Gross Family for TeenPact Strong. 
“TeenPact is much more than a ministry of education, it is a family. Please help save this community and its future,” Hannah M. said.