Youth group thrives on kids gone 'wyld'
Annual spaghetti dinner planned May 24
 | | PHOTOS BY DENNIS SYMONS JR.
During the monthly meeting of the Wyldlife Club at the Millstone Township Community Center on May 6, Chelsea Laday, above, plays ping pong shuffle, while at left, Danielle Balint (r-l) Monica Gorycki and Gabby Stender face off in a spaghetti-eating contest. |
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MILLSTONE - One local organization encourages area youth to go "wyld."
The Millstone WyldLife Club is a youth group that has caught on with area middle-schoolers since its inception in 2003. What started out with 20 people quickly turned into a close-knit unit of 120 members, according to Gina Cullinane, one of the club's leaders.
"We are an interdenominational Christian youth group," Cullinane said, "and our goal is to gather kids together safely in a great loving environment.
"We hope to bring them toward reaching their God given potential," she added.
The group consists of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade Millstone Township students of all backgrounds and faiths, Cullinane said, and meetings are held every month.
Unlike what takes place during typical club gatherings, what happens during a WyldLife meeting is mostly funny business.
"During the club meetings, we play crazy, messy games," Cullinane said. "We do this because it is important to be able to laugh at each other and to laugh at ourselves."
At the end of each meeting, kids calm down by listening to a 10- to 15-minute, age-appropriate Gospel reading, according to Cullinane.
She said WyldLife not only encourages children to get out and meet others who live in their community, but also enlightens them.
"I think we have such wonderful children in Millstone, and they have such wonderful opportunities," Cullinane said.
"If they continue down the right path," she added, "they will live their lives as God wants them to."
According to Cullinane, the group acts as a barrier between youth and some of the increasingly growing problems in the world.
"Kids have different problems and issues to deal with these days," Cullinane said. "Drugs and alcohol are everywhere, and we need to teach our children how to stand on their own two feet against these things."
Cullinane said the group leaders, who include volunteers from Allentown High School, try to build strong bonds with members.
"We want them to talk to us and tell us if they have a problem," Cullinane said. "Then we try to point them in the right direction."
Cullinane said the bonds outstretch the limits of the club, as leaders like to attend members' sporting events and other similar activities.
"We chat with members through e-mail about problems going on," Cullinane said. "We build relationships with the kids and try to put them on the right path toward resolving their issues."
Cullinane added that leaders give members "kid-based" solutions in addition to "Christian-based" ones.
The club is an offshoot of the national organization Young Life - hence, the "yl" in "Wyld."
The idea for the group, according to Cullinane, began at Emley's Hill United Methodist Church with the church's pastor, the Rev. Greg Bruton, and his wife, Donna.
"They approached us about starting a youth group in the area," Cullinane said.
Cullinane has been involved with the group since the beginning. She has since gotten her husband, Ed, and Millstone residents John Marr and Donna O'Leary involved.
According to Cullinane, youth group leaders learn a lot from the youth.
"It is inspiring to see their determination and their will to keep on trying," Cullinane said.
Besides attending meetings, club members go on ventures such as tours of local cultural sites and outings to sports activities. They also go camping.
"We go camping twice a year," Cullinane said. "We have gone camping at Lake Champion in New York and in Virginia."
The group participates in community activities as well. On May 24, WyldLife will hold its annual spaghetti dinner at the Millstone Elks Club on Burnt Tavern Road.
Tickets for the dinner cost $8 per adult and $5 per child, or $30 per family. The group will donate 10 percent of the event's proceeds to New Egypt's Relay for Life. All other proceeds will go toward sending the WyldLife kids to camp.
Other than donating food or supplies to WyldLife, parents and guardians do not have to pay anything to enroll their children in the club.
Interested parents/guardians may contact Gina Cullinane at (609) 259-7958.
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