MORE INFORMATION and SIGN UP OPTION COMING AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE EVENT:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUTH REGISTRATION FORM

CLICK HERE to download Youth Leader Application

CLICK HERE to download BACKGROUND check and/or Drivers check form

Summer Stretch (SS) is a twin cities wide service ministry for junior high students. Woodbury Lutheran (WLC) has participated for over 8 years and we're excited to be one of the 60 plus churches involved this summer. The goal of SS at WLC is that Middle School youth (students who have completed 6th-9th grade) will have opportunities to meaningfully serve and grow in relationship with Jesus and their peers. Anyone is welcome to participate.

Cost: $75 early bird rate ($100 after May 1st)-- This includes all 5 weeks of activities, a t-shirt, transportation, + Vallefair admission
or you can pay $20 per week ($30 for Valleyfair on 8.2). --we still need all students to let us know if they are coming 7 days in advance. This helps us ensure that we have enough seatbelts and service sites for all students.

Driving Policy
Each student's family is responsible for driving 2 times during the summer for the full day (8:00-4:45pm). If you are unable to drive YOU are responsible for finding a replacement. We also need all drivers to complete and pass a background/driver's check. This helps us ensure that our students are safe on the road with our adults. All drivers need to be at least 21 years old.
Clothing Policy
Please wear tennis shoes each week. Many of our service sites won't allow the students to serve unless they are wearing closed toed shoes. Students may wear other shoes for the afternoon play activities if they choose to.
We also require that all participants wear a Summer Stretch shirt to all sites. We will get dirty...so dress for it!
On dates when we are going swimming girls need to wear 1 piece bathing suits or a colored shirt over a 2 piece. (this swimsuit policy is followed at the water park and valleyfair)
Electronics Policy
Due to the nature of the day, we ask that I-pods, handheld games, valuables, and electronics be left at home. Students may have a cell phone, but if they are found to be a distraction for your child we'll keep them for the day's activities. In the past we have had many students lose or forget their cell phones and i-pods at service sites, recreational sites, and around the church. The church is not responsible for replacing any lost, stolen, or broken items.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why do parents have to drive 2 times? We need volunteer drivers in order for this program to work, without them we can't host 100 youth each week. In the past we have asked families to drive 1 time and found that we were short drivers most weeks with our growing number of student participants. If you are absolutely unable to drive or find a replacement please contact Lindsey. All drivers need to be at least 21 years old.
What are drivers responsible for? We ask that drivers arrive at WLC at 8:00am to recieve your adult t-shirt for the day, to look over the directions, and to recieve instructions regarding the day's activities. Drivers will take a car/van-load of kids to a service site, work alongside that group of students, bring them back to WLC, do a de-briefing exercise with them while eating lunch, and then jump on the bus and come play with us in the afternoon. In the afternoon we will all be together as a large group so if you need to leave after lunch please let Lindsey know at least a week in advance so she can make sure there are enough adults for the afternoon activity.
What if we are going to be out of town for a week? If know you are going to be gone one of the weeks of SS please make sure Lindsey knows. It is critical that we maintain integrity with our service sites and provide the number of people that we say we are going to provide. This helps them out and also helps us know how many cars we need each week.
What if I want to bring a friend along? If you would like to bring a guest with you we'd love to have them! We do need to know at least 7 days in advance so we can make sure that we have enough drivers, sites, and tickets. We are often restricted by the number of seatbelts and service site spaces, so the more notice the better!
What does the day's schedule typically look like?
8:15-9:00am: youth have opening devotions led by Sr. Youth staff and drivers have a drivers meeting
9:00am-leave for service sites (typically 7-10 different locations)
9:30-11:30am-serve at sites
11:30-drive back to WLC (no stops please!!!)
noonish: bag lunch time at WLC (each student is responsible for bringing their own lunch! Cafe 121 is also open if you'd like to buy lunch)
1ish: leave for play site on buses
1:30-4pm: Play
4:45pm: arrive back at WLC for pickup
How are service sites selected & are they all Christian? Many of our sites are places where we have been serving for years (Feed My Starving Children, Christian cupboard, Salvation Army, Hill Home, Ann P Rogers house, etc) others come highly recommended by fellow SS churches in the twin cities. They are not all Christian based organizations, but they all provide services to people in need in honorable ways. There are a couple of sites where we serve that other people from the community may be serving alongside our youth. (Books for Africa, Circle of Friends, Salvation Army, FMSC, etc) At these sites we don't have control over these other folk's language, discussions, or behavior. Knowing this, we do make sure that each group of youth has adults from WLC who have had a background check and also that these sites know we're a church group with junior high students.
Can my other children come along if I am driving? If the children are at least 7 years old they may come for the whole day (you will need to pay for the cost of their afternoon activity). If under 7 they are welcome to join us after lunch, but most of the service sites won't allow them to come due to insurance purposes. Please notify Lindsey of other non-stretch children, so that she can figure out the right number of seatbelts for each car.
Will my child need money for anything? Many of our afternoon activites are places where students can purchase snacks (Twins, swimming, grand slam, movies, bowling). There are also arcade games at both Grand Slam and the bowling alley that will require additional money if your child would like to play them. We will cover the admission costs for each activity out of the registration fee.
Will we know where we're serving in advance? Each week we'll pass out an update sheet letting the students know where they will be going the following week (this is always subject to change due to drivers and group attendence). It will also give parents a reminder of recreational site needs (swimsuits, etc)
Drivers will be notified at least 1 day before the day they're driving via e-mail with directions and specific notes about their site.
Where do students meet at 8:15 in the morning? and where do we pick them up in the afternoon at 4:45pm? We meet in the Bridge in the mornings for opening devotions and students can get picked up by the west doors at 4:45pm.
How many service hours do students recieve for each day of SS? Students recieve 2 hours for each day they attend. If your child is registered for Foundations we'll enter those hours for you, we don't need a servant event form.
If you have other questions please contact Lindsey: 651.739.5144x219

Calendar Navigation