Young Men’s Service League Aledo lends “Refresh for Recovery” efforts to Adult & Teen Challenge of Texas

Aledo high-school-age students and their moms volunteered more than 3,000 service hours to help upgrade the Adult & Teen Challenge facility in Azle.

As part of their annual Ultimate Gift Project, the Aledo Chapter of the Young Men’s Service League (YMSL) volunteered more than 300 hours in the months of October, November, and December to the Azle Chapter of Adult & Teen Challenge of Texas (ATC), a faith- based addiction recovery center. The group donated $3,000 to the Azle Chapter of Adult & Teen Challenge of Azle.

To assist ATC with recent significant remodeling efforts to their facilities, which included turning an existing storage building into a full-service kitchen and gathering space, YMSL Aledo volunteered on projects such as cleaning and painting the fence that surrounds the property, yard clean-up, updating insulation and ceiling tiles in the main building, power washing wood decks on each of the outbuildings, and disassembling the trailer used for holiday festivities.

“We were hoping to give a “refresh for recovery" by helping have an enjoyable home and facility for their recovery efforts, but we feel the impact went deeper than the cosmetic changes we were able to make,” said Alice Whitten, YMSL Aledo’s Assistant VP of Philanthropy. “We believe our efforts helped our members — moms and young men alike — see first-hand what addiction looks like, how addicts can recover, and how the community can facilitate that recovery. We also believe our efforts helped these men be seen and supported by their larger community.”

Following the months of service YMSL Aledo was able to provide, Azle Men’s Director, Greg Ambroson, expressed gratitude and said that as part of their recovery, they go out into the community and help others who are less fortunate. He said they were honored and felt loved to have someone show up for them in the same way. ATC men frequently give back to their local community, and YMSL’s efforts were a way for the community to show up in return.

Aledo high-school-age students and their moms volunteered more than 3,000 service hours to help upgrade the Adult & Teen Challenge facility in Azle.

Adult & Teen Challenge: ATC, which came to Texas in 1968, operates a dozen facilities throughout the state, including the men’s program in Azle. They also run 200 centers nationwide and 1,200 worldwide. ATC’s mission is to provide youth, adults and families with effective and comprehensive Christian faith-based solutions to life-controlling addictions in order to become productive members of society. For more information, visit teenchallengetx.org.

Young Men’s Service League: YMSL is a 501(c)(3) non-profit national volunteer organization comprised of young men in the 9th-12th grades and their mothers. While YMSL members participate in a variety of service activities year-round, the YMSL Ultimate Gift is a focused, multi-day project dedicated to appreciably improving the lives of the communities they serve. The Ultimate Gift accomplishes a project the philanthropy partner(s) would not be able to complete without additional support. The YMSL Ultimate Gift project is inspired by the award-winning book The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall.

YMSL represents nearly 11,500 moms and more than 12,500 young men in 130 chapters in 18 states. YMSL provides opportunities for moms and sons to volunteer together and impact their community while making lasting memories. In addition to fostering a heart for service, YMSL teaches leadership and life skills as part of its four-year comprehensive program to develop young men into capable and confident leaders of tomorrow.