Young Mens Service League (YMSL) - National

Dalrich chapter has a fun afternoon with the Downs Syndrome Guild of Dallas

2012-02-13T13:00:00.000-08:00

YMSL Dalrich Boys had the privilege of joining the Downs Syndrome Guild of Dallas at Nickelrama in Garland for an event full of arcade games, pizza, prizes, and fun! Each YMSL boy was paired with a member of the Downs Syndrome Guild of Dallas. This marked the launch of a ‘teen only’ event for the Downs Syndrome Guild of Dallas, and everyone walked away at the end smiling and telling stories about their experience with their partners. The Dalrich YMSL Boys said, “We want to do this again!” They look forward to participating in the Down's Syndrome Guild of Dallas Talent Show in March.

Lone Star chapter hear Decorated Marine at Father/Son event

2012-02-13T12:32:00.000-08:00

The YMSL Lone Star Chapter hosted decorated military officer and author, Donovan Campbell for our Father/son event on January 28th. Donovan spoke to around 160 young men and their fathers about his experiences as a marine platoon commander. Donavan shared that the average age of his soldiers were 19 ½, not much older than many of our young men. He delivered a powerful message about how the lessons learned in war apply to our daily lives and serving others.

The Lone Star Chapter gets creative with Moms’ Meeting

2012-01-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

This last November, the Lone Star chapter decided to try something different to keep their mom meetings exciting and wellattended. Sheri Bastie, V.P. of Philanthropy, came up with the greatidea to have a Philanthropy Fair. At this meeting, the moms divided up bygrade level and worked on projects for four of our philanthropies. ForMetrocrest Social Services, they made candy poppers out of empty toilet paper tubes, covered them with wrapping paper and tied on theends. For Dallas Life, they made gift bags containing Bibles andjournals. For Meals on Wheels, they made gift bags with note cards andstamps and, for Support the Troops, they made gift bags containing a Starbucksgift card or an AT&T gift card to be handed to each member of the militaryas they stepped off the plane. Since everyone enjoyed the fresh venue,the fellowship with the other grade level moms and helping out our wonderfulphilanthropies, they are planning on it again for next year!

Wildcat Chapter's 3rd Annual Plano Santas

2011-12-20T09:35:00.000-08:00

The Wildcat Chapter brought holiday cheer to two wonderful families through Plano Santas. In the spirit of giving, Moms and Sons dashed off into shopping mode. Not only were the needs of the families met, but due to the generous donations, their Christmas wishes will lay under the Christmas tree welcoming the joy of the season and bringing warmth and peace to the hearts of their parents. The pile of gifts is a sight to behold! The families were so thankful for the outpouring of gifts and donations, and the Moms and Sons were thankful for the opportunity to help.

Dal-Rich gives giggles, smiles, laughs and TOYS!!!

2011-12-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

The Dal-Rich chapter members helped out at Medical City for the Toys for Tots Holiday party on Sunday, December 11th. Being a part of this wonderful event was a great opportunity for the chapter.

The chapter has so far contributed over $150 that will help to provide holiday gifts for the patients of Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas. In addition, further donations through the month from our membership will help buy toys for the playroom in the hospital.

Dal-Rich Chapter works with the Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement

2011-11-14T12:35:00.001-08:00

Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement was visited by members of the YMSL

Dal-Rich Chapter this month. The boys had fun playing games and hanging out with these wonderful children. We all had plenty to be thankful for at the picnic.

It was a wonderful gathering to express gratitude, blessings and community.

Lone Star Chapter Summer Philanthropies Video

2011-09-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

The Lone Star Chapter created a slide show with pictures of the moms and sons serving their various philanthropies over the summer, and would love for you to view it. The Lone Star Chapter logged over 2, 416 hours of summer service, an increase of 10% from the prior summer. This video, shown at the first moms’ meeting, was another way to highlight their different philanthropies and how they serve them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSCutBDUa3E

The Southlake Chapter Was Busy This Summer!

2011-09-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

The Southlake Chapter was busy this summer volunteering close to 1100 hours since May and almost 5500 hours total since the organization was formed three years ago.

Volunteering for Rise Adventures, which is a program for the disabled that utilizes watercraft and fun items for them to enjoy.

They also helped construct a home for the Habitat for Humanity Program in Fort Worth this past June.

Helping organize and volunteer at the Southlake Senior Center Luau this summer the seniors enjoyed a day of Hawaiian fun.

YMSL helps provide sack lunches to kids in need through support of Seven Loaves Food Pantry in Plano, TX

2011-07-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

A note from Janet Collinsworth, Executive Director:

"THANKS to the Keg Steakhouse & Bar for their generosity and commitment to improving lives in our community and THANKS to the hundreds of passionate supporters of the Seven Loaves Food Pantry & Community Center - the SEVEN LOAVES SUMMER LUNCH PROGRAM PLACED FIRST IN TEXAS VOTING and received a generous grant of $25,000 from The Keg Steakhouse & Bar.

THANKS TO YOU the Seven Loaves Food Pantry & Community Center along with Plano Independent Schools, Plano Jr. League, National Charity League, Young Mens Service League, Boy Scouts, Girls Scounts and hundreds of volunteers, there will be over 17,000 healthy sack lunches provided to children in Collin County who are at risk of going without enough food this summer.

THANKS TO YOU!
Follow the story and grant awards at
www.thekegthanksamillion.com/

There are over 55,000 children enrolled in PISD for the 2010-2011 school year of which approximately 10,000, or about 18%, participate in the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program (SBP/NSLP). The SBP/NSLP are federally assisted meal programs operating in public, non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions. Very often, these meals are the primary - or only - sustenance these children receive. These children are food insecure. According to the USDA, food insecurity is limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (that is, without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies). During the school year, SBP/NSLP help fight food insecurity for children. But what happens when school is not in session? On weekends and during the summer and holiday breaks, these children are at risk of not having enough, or perhaps anything, to eat each day.

Your support of the Summer Lunch Program is helping to provide kids in need with lunch this summer so they can stay healthy and be ready for school to start this fall. Thanks so much for your support. "

All the best to you and yours,
Janet Collinsworth, Executive Director
Seven Loaves Food Pantry & Community Center

Plano Chapter banquet held in Cowboy's Stadium

2011-06-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

Our Plano Chapter held their banquet in the home of the Dallas Cowboys on May 1st. The chapter came together to celebrate its graduating seniors and award those that achieved excellence in service work this year. Before the ceremony the boys and moms took a VIP tour of the stadium and got to hang out on the field.

Alpharetta Chapter honors its first year of Graduates

2011-06-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

Our Alpharetta Chapter held its annual banquet on May 1^st at the Marriott on Windward to honor its first class of graduating seniors. The event was a celebration of the chapters' charter class and their moms. This group of 2011 high school graduates contributed more than 4500 hours of service to the North Fulton community over the past 4 years. Congratulations to all!

Milton chapter's first service project is a success!

2011-06-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

In Georgia the Milton chapter was able to do their part to help sort and pack food items which were collected by local letter carriers for the National Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. This is our nation's largest, single day food collection and their community donated over 15 tons of food!

Southlake Chapter has great banquet turnout

2011-06-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

Way to go Southlake Chapter!

Three classes are represented in this photo in the now two year old chapter. The Annual Banquet YMSL - Southlake Chapter was held at Trophy Club Country Club, on May 15th at 5:00pm where the young men and mothers celebrated another year of service to their community. Close to 5,000 community service hours have been performed by this chapter over their two years. Veteran MLB Player Homer Bush was the guest speaker as chapter members dined and honored those who dedicated themselves to community service .The Southlake chapter is looking forward to consisting of a full four year chapter next year, celebrating their 1st Senior Class Graduation.

Congratulations

YMSL Southlake Chapter gets great local media coverage!

2011-06-02T06:20:00.000-07:00

Please take a moment to check out the article in the link:

http://www.scntx.com/articles/2011/05/27/southlake_times/news/50.txt

DALLAS / FORT WORTH MEMBERS TO "PACK THE PLAZA"

2011-05-05T06:12:00.000-07:00

Dallas/Ft. Worth YMSL - lets "Pack the Plaza" on Saturday May 7th from 7-9 am! Channel 8 will be doing a story on us! We are collecting teacher appreciation gifts for the teachers we will be supporting this year for our Ultimate Gift Event at the Vogel Alcove and City Park Elementary.

If you can make it and want to contribute please bring your donations to your chapter or contact Pam Rosener at prosener@gmail.com.

Come out and support YMSL! Details:
When: May 7, 2011
Time: 7:00 am-9:00 am
Where: WFAA – Channel 8 Victory Plaza – near American Airlines Center (Olive & Houston) - Parking available in Lot A off Olive

YMSL Milton (GA) chapter off to a great start!

2011-03-07T05:52:00.000-08:00

Wow! What an amazing turnout we had for our first registration day! The first two cars showed up Friday night at 7:00 p.m. in the hopes of securing their spot on the Milton YMSL roster. The next few cars arrived at 4:00 a.m., and by 6:00 there were 17 cars in line! When registration started at 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning, the 35 slots were immediately filled and an additional 6 mom’s placed on a waiting list! We are so excited about the enthusiasm and can’t wait to start serving in our community.

Tana Riddell, President
Milton Chapter

Welcome new YMSL Milton (Georgia) Chapter!

2011-02-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

The Milton Chapter is up and running, and very excited about what the future holds for the Young Men and their Moms in the city of Milton, Georgia. Our first Mom's Informational Meeting was attended by eleven YMSL Milton Board Members, and from the YMSL Northeast Atlanta Chapter - Debbie Bartolomei and Susan Butler - and thirty-one interested Moms! Let the "service" begin!
Tana Riddell
President Milton Chapter

YMSL Silver Star Chapter hosts 100 U.S. Army troops for lunch!

2011-02-16T06:44:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month; as the D/FW Metroplex prepared to welcome the world for Super Bowl XLV, plane loads of heroes were leaving Texas for points far from home.

On Saturday, February 5th; fifteen high school boys and their moms, members of Young Men’s Service League – Silver Star Chapter, hosted lunch for the U.S. Army’s finest men and women as they prepared to deploy from the United States. Organized by YMSL Meet and Greet the Troops Chair, Karen Foster and USO Event Coordinator, Meagan Bergeron, the volunteers spent three hours with the approximately 100 service men and women sharing lunch and well wishes for a safe return back home. Sharing a meal was the plan – sharing time was the goal – and sharing friendship was the end result. The soldiers told harrowing tales from their calls of duty, as well as familial stories from their time spent at home.

The D/FW Metroplex is known around the country for their big Texas welcome of the troops when they arrive. Sending the soldiers on their way with a warm meal and Texas-sized thanks completes their journey – until they visit us again.

To watch video from the event; click on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUlywA4Lmog&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Watch YMSL-Lone Star Father/Son Event - "Suport our Troops"

2011-02-05T18:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxgWRomtN2c

U.S. Troops arrive everyday at DFW Airport from Iraq and Afghanistan for their fourteen day R&R leave. The Lone Star Chapter of YMSL held their annual Father/Son event on two different days in January to cheer and greet these American heros as they return home to the United States. Lone Star young men and their fathers were encouraged to attend Support Our Troops at DFW Airport on either January 15th and January 29th. It was a blessing to join together with others to greet, welcome and thank these brave men and women for their service.

reflections by Taylor Marshall, Senior and 4-year member of YMSL-Alpharetta Chapter

2011-02-04T13:01:00.000-08:00

Sunday, January 23, 2011 - John Joseph, author of My Guide to (College) Greatness and founder of Global Grad spoke to the Senior boys of the Alpharetta GA chapter of YMSL about a creating a roadmap for a successful transition to college.

“Four fantastic of years of Alpharetta, GA. Hundreds of service/philanthropy events. And most importantly, countless lives touched through the generosity and selflessness of the YMSL Alpharetta High School chapter. But most recently at one of our meetings, I was the one who was moved. Mr. John Joseph travelled all the way from Alabama to discuss his take on the college scene and the steps a high school senior like me should take in making the extremely important transition a successful one. When reflecting on his speech, words such as balance, focus, perseverance and even failure come to mind. That's right failure. We were told that college is a time of learning, independence, and of course great fun. But even more importantly it can be thought of as a trial run for the rest our lives in terms of success. Being told that it was OKAY to fail sometimes despite trying my hardest definitely placed some assurance inside of me when pondering the next four important years of my life. One thing is for sure: Mr. Joseph's words spoke not just to me, but all of my college bound peers, that college is a time to truly find who we are. In return of developing ourselves, we can then touch the lives of others in countless ways and extend hand to the world. Thank you Mr. Joseph.”

Taylor Marshall, Senior and 4 year member of YMSL, Alpharetta chapter

YMSL Cardinal Chapter in the News!

2010-11-30T05:51:00.000-08:00

from "Neighbors Go" on 11/29/10; posted by Sara Campbell

YMSL boys, dads build, repair bikes for Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County

About 45 teenage boys and their dads spent a recent afternoon building and repairing bikes to be donated to needy Collin County youths. The event was part of a Boys Building Bikes service project by the Cardinal Chapter of the Young Men’s Service League (YMSL) in Plano.

The Nov. 21 Father/Son event at John Paul II High School in Plano was the second time the chapter has refurbished bikes or accepted donations of new bikes for needy children. The chapter donated 11 new and 27 refurbished bikes, along with bike helmets, to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Collin County.

“After collecting gently used bicycles for the past few months, we enjoyed watching our boys work with their fathers on such a rewarding service project,” said Jennifer Varni, vice president of membership for the Cardinal Chapter.

“It was a thrill to watch more than a dozen cars and trucks caravan the bikes to the Boys and Girls Club.”

The boys also enjoyed the opportunity to help other kids, Varni said.

“The Boys Building Bikes program is great because we have fun doing service work and make a direct impact on the children in our community,” said Varni’s son, Brandt, who participated in the event.

YMSL is a non-profit organization that encourages young men and their mothers to pursue philanthropic involvement in their community and provides an opportunity to enhance mother/son relationships.

The Cardinal Chapter, which was chartered last year, sponsors the Boys Building Bikes service project as its annual Father/Son event. Varni said the event gives fathers the opportunity to participate in philanthropic activities with their sons.

“This is the second year that I’ve participated in the Boys Building Bikes event, but it was the first time that I've had a chance to see what happens to the bikes after the work is complete,” said David Swinney, who attended the event with his son, Jared. “That made it an even more rewarding thing to do.”

Other philanthropies that the chapter supports include: Allen Community Outreach, Backpacks from Boys, Children’s Medical Center, Collin County Meals on Wheels, Dayspring Assisted Living, Habitat for Humanity, Heritage Farmstead Museum, Hopes Door, Love for Kids, Meet and Greet the Troops at DFW Airport, North Texas Food Bank, Samaritan Inn, St. Vincent de Paul, Miracle League of Frisco and tutoring at Jackson Elementary.

YMSL Ultimate Gift A BIG Success!

2010-11-11T08:46:00.000-08:00

What an amazing success!! The Ultimate Gift Project was truly amazing and we want to thank all of our participating Chapters for their incredible service and support for this National Event!

Please click on the link below and read what the Dallas Morning News said about YMSL!
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/plano/stories/102510dnmetyoungmen.246eb91.html

YMSL Ultimate Gift Event Media Coverage!

2010-10-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

Many of the Dallas area YMSL chapters participated in the YMSL Ultimate Gift Event this weekend and last - the weather was wonderful; and everyone was awesome! Please tune in to Channel 11 at 10 pm and/or Channel 5 at 10 to see some coverage of the event today. We will also be in tomorrow's Dallas Morning News Metro section. From Pam Rosener: "GREAT JOB AND THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED!" More pictures and news of the event posted here soon!

YMSL North Dallas Chapter Senior Reflections

2010-08-03T07:27:00.001-07:00

The YMSL North Dallas chapter senior boys were recently asked to write about their favorite -philanthropy experiences...please read and share what these young men experienced and learned through YMSL volunteer activities. (If you click on the image; it will open a new window that is enlarged and easy to read).

YMSL Northeast Atlanta Chapter mentioned on local news!

2010-07-31T07:17:00.000-07:00

Below is the link of the YMSL Northeast Atlanta Chapter on 11Alive Weekend Morning News. There are 2 interviews on this link. The first interview is the man who had to take his wife to the hospital on their honeymoon night and discovered a brain tumor. The YMSL group is after that...fast forward to around 2:40 to see the boys

YMSL Northeast Atlanta Chapter on the Atlanta news

July 4th message to members from Pam Rosener

2009-07-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

July 4th message to members from our National Director, Pam Rosener:

Happy Independence Day!
As I reflected today about our great nation and the incredible sacrifice so many have given so that we may truly be independent, my thoughts wandered to YMSL. In YMSL we do such a great job at teaching our sons the value of serving those in need. I could not help but to think this morning on how powerful it would be for us also to teach the value of serving our nation. This does not have to mean through the military which is an amazing way to serve but it could be as a leader in so many ways. We need to encourage our sons to become involved in civic service as well as community service. I think our son’s generation has an incredible opportunity to determine the fate of our country.
This week let’s all take a few minutes to reflect and share with our sons on how they can impact their communities, cities, government, politics….through their leadership and ability to sacrifice their time for a better good.
Hope you each have a happy and safe celebration!!
Pam Rosener
President
YMSL National

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2009-06-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

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Welcome to our five new chapters!

2009-06-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our 5 new chapters! Cardinal, Dal-Rich, Southlake, Northeast Georgia, and Wildcat. We held a National Training evening in May that was very well attended by energetic women leading these new chapters; now they are off and running!