Serving together in Christ: The 2024 YSA Conference

Meal Packing

Young single adults at the conference had the opportunity to pack meals, supporting Hunger Fight and children all across the country.

In the United States, many students rely on the federal school lunch program to be able to afford meals. For some, a school lunch may be the only meal they get in a day, and weekends can therefore turn into long and hungry slogs. Hunger Fight’s mission is to make sure these students don’t go hungry outside of school, so they prepare meal packets designed for easy preparation and distribution all across the United States.

YSA attendees packed different types of meals, including oatmeal, together in production lines of willing volunteers. From scooping oatmeal and measuring brown sugar to packing and moving boxes, the lines were filled with laughter, hairnets, and the sweet smell of food.

Every time volunteers finished packing an entire box to send out to children, they rang a bell and cheered across tables—celebrating the work of caring for those in need.

Mental Health Projects

Human beings are multifaceted creatures, with physical, mental, and emotional characteristics making up their whole spiritual experience. So, to help tend to the mind and heart as much as the body, hundreds of YSA attendees pitched in to create comfort kits and Pocket Hug letters.

Emotional Comfort Kits

Emotional comfort kits contained each of the following to comfort people in moments of crisis:

• Colored Pencils
• Coloring Book
• Puzzle Book
• Blanket
• Game
• Notepad and Pen
• Candy
• Fidget Toy
• Kleenex
• Lotion
• Chapstick
• Emotional care card

Pocket Hugs

Promise2Live’s Pocket Hug Project focuses on mental health and suicide prevention, and at the YSA conference, attendees had a chance to be a part of that important work. Participants in the activity made a three-part commitment: to seek help if they are ever in crisis, help stop the stigma around mental health, and save lives through a letter-writing activity.

The writing activity had young single adults sit down and draft two sincere, hope-filled letters. One letter was for them to give to someone in their own lives, and the second one was given to Promise2Live to redistribute to those in need.

Participants in this activity also received a “pocket hug” as part of their commitment to seek help if they are ever in crisis. These small coins say, “When times are tough and you don’t know what to do, Here’s a hug from me to you!” with the suicide hotline and the organization’s website inscribed for additional support.

Blanket Donations

The blanket service station allowed many groups of young single adults to assemble fleece blankets for those experiencing homelessness. Groups of friends and strangers mingled as they cut blankets, tied them, and stacked them to be later shipped to those who needed them most.

When asked why they were participating the activity, one young woman named Sara said, “I’ve been struggling with dating and was feeling down about it. Then I received a revelation that told me the answer was to get outside myself, serve others and connect with them, and that that’s where I’d find my people.” She spoke with faith and with a spark of joy as she tied the blanket’s tassels.

“I came to the YSA conference to meet new people with the same values . . .” said young man Dejon. “As far as the service area, it’s a really great way to talk to people and do good at the same time.”

Two young men, Joseph and Sandro, assembled a blanket together, and in response to why they had chosen to participate in the activity, Joseph said, “Sandro and I are good friends, and we love doing stuff that’s helpful for other people. Plus, the service areas of the conference are a bit less hectic.” He smiled at the admission. “We love serving people.”

Across the service group, participants found the positive impact service had on their own lives and those they were serving. Whether it helps us gain perspective and see beyond ourselves, meditate in a way that promotes mental health, or simply practice connecting to others, service can benefit everyone—giver and receiver.

ShelterBox Tent Competition

Outside of service projects, there were many opportunities for attendees to learn more about humanitarian organizations and efforts in their area, with a particular focus on the journey of displaced people and how attendees can support them.

Shelter Box, the International Rescue Committee, Cache Valley Refugee Connection, and Catholic Relief Services were all in attendance, informing attendees about what those experiencing disasters need and how attendees could help. ShelterBox, which has helped nearly 3 million people worldwide and has been nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize, held a competition where attendees timed their speed in setting up a typical tent refuge so that young attendees could identify with and understand what the experience is like.

We Are Our Mission

Life can get busy with responsibilities, calendars, and work—but in the aftermath of the conference, priorities were made clear. A brilliant quote from A Christmas Carol well encapsulates it: “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business.”

Humankind is our business. As children of God, as followers of Christ, we are meant to keep the first and second great commandments. When we live as He would have us live, we each give to one another, and in turn, receive and are received as we build a community of saints. There is no better way to “live after the manner of happiness” (2 Nephi 5:27).

Let us live with that sincerity, and, as the caps handed out to the YSA attendee’s remark: make sure we go “about doing good.”