A member of Young Life (YL), a Christian youth organization, Cole Hranicky attends weekly bible studies and helps strengthen other student members' faith. Cole Hranicky volunteered in YL wilderness, a week-long summer camp that involved backpacking through the San Juan Mountains.
Young Life was set up in 1941 by a Presbyterian minister, Jim Rayburn, in Gainesville, Texas. Presently, the organization operates in 100 countries where it reaches a million teenagers with the aid of 68,000 adult volunteers and 5,000 staff members.
YL provides guidance, mentoring, and relationship-building to teenagers through the inculcation of spiritual values. The organization has clubs in 8,500 high schools, colleges, and universities where teenagers can meet weekly to discuss life issues, study the bible, and interact through youthful fun activities like games, music, and skits. It also maintains different ministries targeting teenagers based on needs, circumstances, demographics, and location.
YL holds week-long local youth summer camps and retreats in different places with almost 250,000 campers' annual attendance. Here, Christian messages are interspersed with camp activities and motivational talks. The organization owns some of the properties where these camps hold while it leases the others. High school and college student members can work with volunteers in various activities at these camps and service projects. YL also has a foundation that manages and invests the financial donations and revenues it receives, which amounts to $400 million annually.
