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by Karen Brannon, Farmers Insurance
When you ask the founder of Serendipity West Foundation what she thinks people should know about her, the 2010 Leadership in Action Award winner Carol Oxenrider immediately says that she is just part of a team that is "Awakening Teens to Their Magnificence and Power, Creating Bold New Futures." As usual Carol is overly modest about the importance of her role in carrying out the mission of the organization she has founded. This retired grandmother has shown us all that your second act can be meaningful, important, and fulfilling and that you can change the world one child at a time.
Carol's organization, Serendipity West Foundation, is the vehicle that is bringing Challenge Day to Central Oregon's middle schools and high schools, by providing administrative support, funding, and volunteers. Serendipity West Foundation works tirelessly, through the Board of Directors and the dedicated efforts of Arlene Gibson (CEO and Founder of Foundations That Make A Difference), to raise the funds necessary to bring Challenge Day to life. The total cost of a three day Challenge Day program is approximately $12,000.00 and reaches 300 students and 75 or more Adult Participants. This year the Challenge Day program was brought to six Central Oregon schools, and to date Challenge Day has reached over 2800 Central Oregon students and nearly 900 Adult Participants. Challenge Day, which began in 1987, is growing energy across the country thanks to being featured on Oprah and MTV's "If You Really Knew Me".
The Challenge Day Program is designed to unite members of a school community and to empower them to carry the themes of the program back to the school's population. A key element of the program is the professional facilitators who are highly trained individuals with personal stories that testify you can "Be the Change You Want to See!" The facilitators guide the students and adult participants through a series of experiential processes that increase personal power and self esteem. The program also tackles issues of violence, teasing, harassment, and alcohol and drugs.
When I first heard about Challenge Day I was intrigued. I couldn't help but think how a program like this might have changed my own high school experience. Like many people I was bullied and teased, and now 40 years later the scars of shame and humiliation have healed but they are still apparent. It took me 2 years to commit to being an adult participant, I wasn't sure I was ready to revisit the pain of adolescence. I finally decided to participate because thought I might be able to help someone else have a healthier, happier, safer high school experience then I did.
The power of this program is when the participating students realize that they are not the only ones who are dealing with adversity. Even though they see each other every day, most students don't realize that others face many of the same problems they do, and that others are being teased and bullied as well. I remember as a student that I was certain my pain was unique and that no one else could possibly have the same kind of pain. What a great gift it was to the students in this group to know that they are not alone, that others have similar experiences and understood that they were going through.
The shared experience alone is a huge, but the transformational part of Challenge Day is the empowerment the program teaches, that each person has the power to "be the change they want to see". I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it, but by the end of the day in this room full of more than 100 students no one giggled, made fun of others, or isolated, and as a reward they received the gift of shared experience and the empowerment to continue to be real.
What I didn't expect from my Challenge Day experience was for it to be as healing and reaffirming for me, as an adult participant, as it was for the students. In all of my experiences as both a child and adult I can't think of another time where I've spent an entire day with people who were sharing their "real" stories. The result of such core honesty is a shared experience full of hope and optimism.
Challenge Day has come to Central Oregon primarily through the vision and loving commitment of Carol Oxenrider and her vessel Serendipity West Foundation. I for one have a huge respect for her effort and great admiration for the experience that she has championed and brought to life. It is possible to "be the change you want to see"! Just ask Carol.
You too can "be the change" by donating or by volunteering to be an adult participant in one of the upcoming Challenge Days. It's a great gift to give yourself! For more information, go to www.SerendipityWest.org.
To donate, send a check to Serendipity West Foundation, 20291 Poe Sholes Dr., Bend, OR 97701; or visit www.SerendipityWest.org and click on "How Can I Contribute", then "Donate".
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