Reaching out to Teen moms & dads
Donation protected
YoungLives/New Life is celebrating 10 years!!!
We have been serving teen moms and dads in the Greece, Hilton, Spencerport, Churchville, Brockport and
surrounding areas. We have served over 50 moms and their babies. This could not have been done without the dedication of our volunteers, our special community speakers, people supporting us through donations, our special events Pamper Yourself & Shop, our 5K and other fun-raisers.
We have come a long way. We started as a ministry of Lakeshore Community Church and then partnered with Young Life to become YoungLives serving the westside of Monroe County. It has been a great partnership lots of training, lots of encouragement, and a camp adventure for the girls and their babies, with YoungLives has helped us navigate serving teen moms and dads in our area.
We are excited to see what God is going to do in the next few years as we keep on reaching these moms and dads with God‘s unconditional love. We are always looking for new volunteers to help us out. You don’t have to attend Lakeshore Community Church. It is a ministry of the westside of Monroe County so feel free to get in touch with us. Let us all work together to give these moms the tools to be successful parents.
About Us
The Young Lives Teen Moms/New Life our teen mom and pregnancy teen support group provides friendship and emotional support for pregnant teens and teen moms & dads. All services are free - we rely on donations and fundraisers to cover the cost of meals and services for these teens.
Some stories from the teen our moms:
Miranda’s story:
When I first started at YoungLives/New Life at Lakeshore I was pregnant at the age of 16. I was nervous and felt lost. New Life from the first day made me feel welcome and gave me the confidence I needed to know I'd be a good mom to my daughter. I love going to New Life! We are not just a support group that meets on Tuesday night, we are a family! 3 years later I have a beautiful 2 1/2 year old little girl and New Life has helped me in so many ways with whatever I need to help raise my daughter. New Life also brought me closer to the Lord! I thank God everyday I have the opportunity to be with people at YoungLives/New Life that me and my daughter love so much!
Keri’s story:
At age 16 I thought I had to stay in my relationship because I was told nobody else would ever love me the way he did. My biggest fear was being a young single mother. New life/Younglives welcomed me with open arms, taught me how to build myself back up after being ripped into pieces and gave me the confidence I needed to be an amazing mother. Meeting other moms going through similar situations gave me so much inspiration. I am now 22 with a 5-year-old. I finished school and became a nurse and bought my own house. In my opinion, my biggest fear became my greatest strength. "If you haven't felt like giving up, your dreams aren't big enough."
Allie’s story:
At 17 years old I became pregnant and gave birth to a six-pound quarter ounce baby girl named Isabela Grace, she is the light of my life and my pride and joy. I am truly blessed by her but the truth is this wasn’t my plan. I wouldn’t trade Isabela for the world but I do wish that having her I would have been more prepared for what was to come. At 17 you’re still a kid still going to school and now raising this beautiful miracle while you’re still a child yourself. It is one of the most challenging things I have ever experienced. It is one of the hardest things to be a teen parent mom or dad. Parenthood in high school is one of the leading causes for teen girls to drop out of school but thankfully I beat that statistic along with a lot of other girls. We overcame what a lot of people thought was impossible. I graduated high school half a year early with my daughter sitting in the audience watching me. In August of that same year, I started college majoring in Veterinary Technician at Genesee Community College. Not only was I going to college, I was working part time at the Westside YMCA and taking care of a child. It has been hard but thankfully I have one of the best support systems around. My family has been there for me and helped me to the best of their ability the whole time and New Life/Young Lives has been one of the main reasons I have succeeded. Being a young mother doesn’t mean that my life is over. It simply means that my life starts a little early. When I found out about New Life/Young Lives I met some of the best moms in this world all who got pregnant at a very young age. All who beat the statistics to provide the best life possible for our children and to show them that despite our circumstances we overcame. A huge reason was the constant support of New Life/Young Lives. Not only did I meet amazing teen moms, I also met some of the best leaders. Throughout my pregnancy one of the leaders would call me to see how I was doing and if I ever had any questions or concerns she made sure to help me to the best of her ability. She even came to the hospital after I gave birth to Isabela.
She is not only a great leader but a wonderful friend. Another leader has helped me grow so much closer to the Lord. She has given me opportunities I would have never had before I got pregnant. She is always encouraging me to make choices that are going to benefit Isabela and I to always strive for success and the way that’s possible is through Jesus Christ. Our New Life/Young Lives leaders could have left us to be someone else’s problem, to figure out motherhood and life by ourselves, but instead they have a heart so big that they would stop and worry about what would happen to us if they didn’t help. I am blessed to be a part of this group. A few summers ago I was given an opportunity to attend Young Lives camp at Lake Champion. It was one of the best experiences of my entire life, I recommitted my life to the Lord on the last day of camp. I was skeptic at first not having my phone and being so far away from my family, but that shortly changed after getting off the bus and seeing so many people clap for us and just smile and telling us what a great job we are doing. They showed us a genuine Christ love, something I had never experienced in that way before. I grew closer to the girls in my group by participating in team building exercises and by being vulnerable to the word of God in our daily teachings. It was a summer I will never forget. Thank you to everyone who sponsored me to go to camp. It changed my life and renewed my love for Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful. New Life/Young Lives not only helped me to become a better mom but has helped me to grow and understand that God still has a plan for my life and his plan is good and perfect and he’s never going to leave us or forsake us. Thank you again. Without New Life/Young Lives I wouldn’t be the women and mother I am today.
Help us by donating money towards diapers, wipes, towards our program and sending a girl to camp this summer.
For more information, check out our website or reach out to us through this campaign!
We have been serving teen moms and dads in the Greece, Hilton, Spencerport, Churchville, Brockport and
surrounding areas. We have served over 50 moms and their babies. This could not have been done without the dedication of our volunteers, our special community speakers, people supporting us through donations, our special events Pamper Yourself & Shop, our 5K and other fun-raisers.
We have come a long way. We started as a ministry of Lakeshore Community Church and then partnered with Young Life to become YoungLives serving the westside of Monroe County. It has been a great partnership lots of training, lots of encouragement, and a camp adventure for the girls and their babies, with YoungLives has helped us navigate serving teen moms and dads in our area.
We are excited to see what God is going to do in the next few years as we keep on reaching these moms and dads with God‘s unconditional love. We are always looking for new volunteers to help us out. You don’t have to attend Lakeshore Community Church. It is a ministry of the westside of Monroe County so feel free to get in touch with us. Let us all work together to give these moms the tools to be successful parents.
About Us
The Young Lives Teen Moms/New Life our teen mom and pregnancy teen support group provides friendship and emotional support for pregnant teens and teen moms & dads. All services are free - we rely on donations and fundraisers to cover the cost of meals and services for these teens.
Some stories from the teen our moms:
Miranda’s story:
When I first started at YoungLives/New Life at Lakeshore I was pregnant at the age of 16. I was nervous and felt lost. New Life from the first day made me feel welcome and gave me the confidence I needed to know I'd be a good mom to my daughter. I love going to New Life! We are not just a support group that meets on Tuesday night, we are a family! 3 years later I have a beautiful 2 1/2 year old little girl and New Life has helped me in so many ways with whatever I need to help raise my daughter. New Life also brought me closer to the Lord! I thank God everyday I have the opportunity to be with people at YoungLives/New Life that me and my daughter love so much!
Keri’s story:
At age 16 I thought I had to stay in my relationship because I was told nobody else would ever love me the way he did. My biggest fear was being a young single mother. New life/Younglives welcomed me with open arms, taught me how to build myself back up after being ripped into pieces and gave me the confidence I needed to be an amazing mother. Meeting other moms going through similar situations gave me so much inspiration. I am now 22 with a 5-year-old. I finished school and became a nurse and bought my own house. In my opinion, my biggest fear became my greatest strength. "If you haven't felt like giving up, your dreams aren't big enough."
Allie’s story:
At 17 years old I became pregnant and gave birth to a six-pound quarter ounce baby girl named Isabela Grace, she is the light of my life and my pride and joy. I am truly blessed by her but the truth is this wasn’t my plan. I wouldn’t trade Isabela for the world but I do wish that having her I would have been more prepared for what was to come. At 17 you’re still a kid still going to school and now raising this beautiful miracle while you’re still a child yourself. It is one of the most challenging things I have ever experienced. It is one of the hardest things to be a teen parent mom or dad. Parenthood in high school is one of the leading causes for teen girls to drop out of school but thankfully I beat that statistic along with a lot of other girls. We overcame what a lot of people thought was impossible. I graduated high school half a year early with my daughter sitting in the audience watching me. In August of that same year, I started college majoring in Veterinary Technician at Genesee Community College. Not only was I going to college, I was working part time at the Westside YMCA and taking care of a child. It has been hard but thankfully I have one of the best support systems around. My family has been there for me and helped me to the best of their ability the whole time and New Life/Young Lives has been one of the main reasons I have succeeded. Being a young mother doesn’t mean that my life is over. It simply means that my life starts a little early. When I found out about New Life/Young Lives I met some of the best moms in this world all who got pregnant at a very young age. All who beat the statistics to provide the best life possible for our children and to show them that despite our circumstances we overcame. A huge reason was the constant support of New Life/Young Lives. Not only did I meet amazing teen moms, I also met some of the best leaders. Throughout my pregnancy one of the leaders would call me to see how I was doing and if I ever had any questions or concerns she made sure to help me to the best of her ability. She even came to the hospital after I gave birth to Isabela.
She is not only a great leader but a wonderful friend. Another leader has helped me grow so much closer to the Lord. She has given me opportunities I would have never had before I got pregnant. She is always encouraging me to make choices that are going to benefit Isabela and I to always strive for success and the way that’s possible is through Jesus Christ. Our New Life/Young Lives leaders could have left us to be someone else’s problem, to figure out motherhood and life by ourselves, but instead they have a heart so big that they would stop and worry about what would happen to us if they didn’t help. I am blessed to be a part of this group. A few summers ago I was given an opportunity to attend Young Lives camp at Lake Champion. It was one of the best experiences of my entire life, I recommitted my life to the Lord on the last day of camp. I was skeptic at first not having my phone and being so far away from my family, but that shortly changed after getting off the bus and seeing so many people clap for us and just smile and telling us what a great job we are doing. They showed us a genuine Christ love, something I had never experienced in that way before. I grew closer to the girls in my group by participating in team building exercises and by being vulnerable to the word of God in our daily teachings. It was a summer I will never forget. Thank you to everyone who sponsored me to go to camp. It changed my life and renewed my love for Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful. New Life/Young Lives not only helped me to become a better mom but has helped me to grow and understand that God still has a plan for my life and his plan is good and perfect and he’s never going to leave us or forsake us. Thank you again. Without New Life/Young Lives I wouldn’t be the women and mother I am today.
Help us by donating money towards diapers, wipes, towards our program and sending a girl to camp this summer.
For more information, check out our website or reach out to us through this campaign!
Organizer and beneficiary
Kathy Shepanski
Organizer
Rochester, NY
Kathy Shepanski
Beneficiary
