Mission

Our current situation

In our communities today, we have a rising problem – children are too often getting lost in the shuffle.  The challenge starts at home.  The number of single parent households is rising.  A tough economy means more parents are working.  All of this means less parental involvement, less role modeling opportunities in the home.

Then the challenge shifts to the school system.  With less parental availability, teachers and coaches are often expected to pick up the slack, to do so much more beyond teaching and coaching.  They give all they can, but they can only do so much.

At the same time, church youth ministries have often developed an attractional model – a culture of creating programs designed for teaching and ministering to youth, within the walls of the church building.  If church youth are involved in mission work, it is limited to short-term mission trips elsewhere, or if mission work is local, limited to occasional soup kitchen service and the stacking and sorting of canned goods.  In the prevailing youth ministry model, youth can graduate from high school without experiencing how to use their God-given gifts and talents for local, relational, intentional ministry.

We believe we can do better.

Consider the modern day Starfish parable:  A man and a boy are walking down the beach and see that, due to a change in tides, it is littered with hundreds of starfish.  If the starfish stay out of the water too long, they will die.  The man reaches down, picks up a starfish and throws it into the sea.  He does this again and again.  The boy, seeing the huge amount of starfish stranded on the beach wonders allowed what difference it makes.  The man, picking up a single starfish, shows it to the boy and says, “it matters to this one.”  He then tosses the starfish into the sea.

By casting high school youth into the role of being mentors for local at-risk upper elementary school students, we not only provide the opportunity for developing ministry gifts, we also meet the deep need in our community’s children to have positive, encouraging role models.  We catch the kids that are getting lost in the shuffle and let them know that someone cares.

Just One Starfish is a youth mentoring organization that focuses on training high school students to be one-on-one mentors for at-risk upper elementary/middle school students.   We plan to launch student mentoring relationships in the Fall 2012 in Arlington, Texas, and have a long-term vision to partner with other organizations and launch similar programs around the country in the next 2-3 years.

As an organization, we believe trained high school students have the ability to serve as positive mentors to younger students.

We also believe that this ministry can transform communities. When children know that someone is there to believe in them and encourage them, their lives can change forever.  When high school youth know that they have the ability to make a genuine difference, their lives are changed as well. We cannot save all of the children, but we can make a difference one life at a time.

Acknowledging that student participants may not have the means to pay for training and mentoring, Just One Starfish depends on the generosity of outside donations and community support to cover the costs of training material and support.

The following describes the organization, its mission and values as well as outlines goals for the future.

Organizational Description

Just One Starfish is a youth mentoring organization that focuses on training high school students to be one-on-one mentors for at-risk upper elementary/middle school students.  The organization was named for the modern day starfish parable, and the basic concept that, although we cannot solve all of a community’s problems, we can empower young people to make a positive difference in the community one person at a time.  Through creating role model relationships, both older and younger students benefit and grow from the process.

Just One Starfish was founded in April 2012 and will launch in limited areas in Fall 2012.  The goal of Just One Starfish is to transform lives, one mentoring relationship at a time.  We plan to create a model that can be duplicated in communities throughout the country.

Mission Statement

The mission of Just One Starfish is to positively impact and transform students’ lives through creating encouraging, one-on-one mentoring relationships between high school mentors and upper elementary at-risk students.

Vision Statement

The vision of Just One Starfish is to transform communities and positively change lives through creating one-on-one mentoring relationships between local high school students and at-risk upper elementary school students.

How it works

Ideally, Just One Starfish high school sophomores and juniors are paired with local 5th graders in order to create a mentoring relationship that lasts at least two school years – during the challenging time of preadolescence.  Following a training curriculum, Just One Starfish mentors are coached in student leadership and in being positive role models.  Unique to Just One Starfish, high school mentors receive continued coaching and follow-up during the mentoring process.   The vision is to have mentors meet with their mentored “stars” regularly over a period of two years – establishing trust and encouraging positive life decisions.  While we cannot save the entire community, Just One Starfish mentoring seeks to positively impact one student at a time, creating a ripple effect in our schools and communities.

Values Statement

We believe in:

• Student Leadership – We believe high school students are ready to lead and be positive role models in the community.
• Developing Skills – We believe in training mentors to be positive role models.
• Leading through Encouragement – Just One Starfish mentors come alongside their “stars” and encourage positive life choices
• Mentor Relationships Add Value all Around – By creating one-on-one mentor relationships, everyone benefits.  High school students are empowered in their own community service ministry.  At-risk preadolescents gain an encouraging voice and positive role model they can relate to.  This additional positive connection supports the work of teachers, coaches, youthworkers and parents.  The entire community can benefit from lives being directed in helpful ways.