YW New Beginnings - Real Heros: Women with Values

Last night was our 2012 New Beginnings...

(invite: formatted to 4x6 and printed as a photo)
(credit for PU hero girl: DesigZbydede)

We chose this theme for New Beginnings because we wanted the girls to gain a deeper understanding of their divine roles and the values (YW values) which will help them fulfill those roles ...and we looked to select women from the scriptures and church history as our examples and heros.

Each YW chose a woman from this set (from RealHeroPosters) to study.

Based on the woman they chose, each girl completed a two week study about their Hero. This was a "Scripture Hero Book" free download from The Redheaded Hostess! (Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! I just LOVE her!)

update: The Redheaded Hostess updated the packet for download HERE
She also sells an even newer version in a pre-printed Journal form HERE

We purchased the whole set of cards and each girl kept the card for their hero. There is a spot to tape it in the booklet so they can refer back to it.

The Scripture Hero Book is a fun workbook that contains a day-by-day study of their hero, principles of the gospel, how their hero would act in situations that the girls face today, and an application of how to become more like their scripture hero.

We simply downloaded the booklet from The Redheaded Hostess and had them printed at kinkos for each of our girls. We put them in a protected soft binder as shown.

The 2 Week Study

- Each leader was assigned to 1 or 2 girls to check up by phone every other day or so to see if the girls were keeping up with the study (remember, everyday for two weeks is a new assignment). This was a really great opportunity to get some one-on-one time with each girl to assess their learning, get to know them better, and see how their testimony was developing. Each leader fulfilled the assignment along with the girl she was assigned to.

- It ended being drug out a little longer than 2 weeks, as the girls couldn't keep up with their other school work and activities. We started the project 4 weeks before New Beginnings to be sure we'd have a buffer period. Good thing we did.

- This fulfilled a 10 Hour Value Project for each young women! It could be used for a few different values, but we chose Divine Nature.

- Once they completed the project, and before New Beginnings, we gave each girl this little sheet to fill out (so when it came time to present their hero, they wouldn't ramble or not know what to say!)



New Beginnings Program

Display

*11 x 17 Posters of each YW Value Hero Poster (again from RealHeroPosters) along with each
corresponding value below. (the girls pointed to their hero when it was their turn to speak).

Program Outline

YW President Talk:

This is something you'll need to cater to your exact program, but these were my comments:

This has been really wonderful to work with the young women on this Hero Project. It was certainly not an easy task for the girls--each day brought 1-2 pages of reading, answering questions, and thinking about their scripture hero for two weeks. And I know they are now probably the leading experts on those women in the scriptures... I am so proud of these girls. As leaders, we feel so blessed to be able to be in their presence so often.

We chose this theme for New Beginnings because we wanted the girls to gain a deeper understanding of their divine roles and the values which will help them fulfill those roles. And we looked to select women from the scriptures and church history as our examples and heros. Each of those women studied exemplified our young women values.

I was able to study Rebekah, alongside Danielle... and I grew particularly fond of this woman from the scriptures. I'm sure Rebekah never dreamed of the tremendous impact she would have on the world while simply but surely following promptings to give water to the man at the well. It was through this act of good works that she was led to be the wife of Isaac. Her and Isaac were parents to Jacob, or Israel....the father of the 12 tribes. Her individual worth was tremendous and she played a great role in helping to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenenant... Because of her righteousness, she was in the right place, at the right time. And we can certainly look to her as one of our heros!

The other women studied accomplished different, but equally divine roles. Young Women: you, like them, have divine roles to fulfill and you can look to women like these for help and inspiration... They are real heros, women with values. You can follow in the footsteps of these women who, with courage and faith, fulfilled their divine roles amidst trials and struggles of their own.

We want you to know, however, that Real heros are not only found in the scriptures. They can be found in your home, in your ward, at your school, in everyday life. Real heros make you want to be better than you are. Real heros lead you closer to the Savior. Real Heros help you realize that YOU are part of a bigger picture. You are His Daughter....

Slideshow:

Right after my talk, we had a powerpoint slideshow with pictures of our girls from activities, girls camp, trek, etc. taken this last year. We put it to the EFY Song, "I am His Daughter" which is incredibly beautiful and touching! This is the song if you want to listen:

At the end, we gave each girl her hero poster to take home...

and a yellow COURAGE bracelet...since it takes courage to live righteously like our Heroes!


Refreshments were simple, but perfect! Two of the counselors made these darling cupcakes in young women value colors and a punch.

It's so fun to participate in programs like these---Oh, how I LOVE serving in Young Women's!

You can download the PDF versions of the program outline and talk cheat sheets for the girls below: