Teens, sunshine, a lake, and lots of fun. That is what we enjoyed at this year’s Escape Youth Conference. This was our second year at Escape and all 13 of the teens who came say that they can’t wait for next year.
Let’s Talk of Anchorage invited youth from all over the state of Alaska to participate in a conference that was geared toward teaching life skills to avoid risks such as premarital sex, alcohol, drugs and violence. We were lucky enough to listen to national speakers such as Rick and Barb Wise and the music of Los 1.
The impact of the conference was easy to see as teens broke down in sessions to tell heart breaking stories of abuse, and betrayal in their lives. They spoke of how the time they spent at Escape was changing the way they thought about their lives and the people around them.
Not all of it was heavy though, with a beautiful lake side camp we had lots of fun playing Capture the Flag, Alka-Seltzer Tag, doing scavenger hunts and swimming. The staff at Let’s Talk put on skits that had kids rolling in the aisles and we even did a talent show the last evening.
The teens we brought from Fairbanks not only had a great time meeting new friends from all over the state, but also had a chance to get to know each other, as many of our group had never met. Now they have new friends they can continue to get to know in their own town.
We here at Step Up Now were happy to partner with Let’s Talk to make this conference happen. We hope to take an even larger group next year and have the Fairbanks youth be the biggest one there. If you would like to join us next year...let us know!
Contact: sam@aksunspot.com
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