Young Life is surrounded by literally MILLIONS of adults. Our minds first go to our amazing volunteers and the staff in each community. However, the reality is that this is just scratching the surface. We have many professionals with jobs outside of direct ministry who are serving God daily with their talents, abilities, and passions as they go about their daily lives. And, we’re seeing a ton of creative ways business owners are really getting serious about using their professional lives to serve God, especially in how they’re supporting Young Life.
Your business can do amazing things to support ministries like Young Life and you can get really creative. Time after time, we’ve seen businesses blurring the lines between doing good business and doing good — and the result is something truly great! Today, as we celebrate the amazing men and women using their businesses for furthering God’s Kingdom, we know there are so many more ways this can be done. This is far from an exhaustive list!
Here are just a few creative ways business owners support Young Life! As you read, you’ll probably find yourself thinking of some other ideas …
Donate Products
VaproShield is a moisture barrier product that’s like Goretex for buildings, and especially needed in the climate around Malibu, Young Life’s camp in British Columbia. What’s cool about this product is that the company was founded by former Malibu work crew member, Lee Snyder. Lee and his business partner have donated these materials to our Malibu construction projects. It’s a practical line item that we don’t have to purchase because of these amazing donations!
Sponsor Developing Global Leader (DGL) Students With Your Construction
Joe Laboon is the owner of Georgia Kitchens, a kitchen remodeling business in Buford, Georgia. A percentage of revenue goes to supporting DGL students and the program and student profile(s) are prominently featured so anyone who walks through the showroom learns about this ministry within Young Life.
Sponsor DGL with Sandwiches (and pizza too)
Raley Parker sponsors DGL students throughout his multiple Jersey Mike’s restaurants. His joint ventures with Fox’s Pizza in Colorado and business partner, Josh Hicks, also take a percentage of revenue to support a DGL student. Similar to Joe Laboon, these restaurants also have signage featuring the program and students sponsored.
Swing Into Support
Southern Pine Swing Company went on a mission to put a Southern Pine Swing at every Young Life camp in the world, send 300 kids to Young Life Camp in Africa and Haiti, and send fun swag at the same time. Thanks to a generous donor, every time they send a swing to a Young Life camp, they donate $470 to Young Life Africa and Haiti. They partnered with a donor to make this happen, while creating an opportunity to get fun swings at Young Life camps and sponsor camperships!
Sponsored Office Space
We see this one happening all over the world, and it’s easy to offer. Many companies rent office space, but may have a few extra rooms in their overall space they aren’t using. Rather than subletting to strangers, many business owners offer up this space to local Young Life teams so that they have a common space where staff can meet and train together.
Sponsorship of Events
From banquets to auctions to you-name-it fundraisers, we see companies stepping up to sponsor these events. Many donate services and products for silent auctions and operating supplies. It’s a simple thing that goes a long way for local ministries to run effective fundraisers.
Sponsor Experiences
Hosanna Revival, founded by Katie Guiliano after being inspired by a Young Life camp, creates beautiful, faith-based products, with a focus on Bibles and Bible studies, and is a ministry that aims to glorify God and help women find peace in their faith. This company regularly sponsors staff to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and experience one of our life-changing immersive trips. What a fun way to improve employee morale, offer exciting staff benefits, and increase exposure to Young Life!
A Caffeinated Mission
Brooke Payne started Cutters Point, a coffee shop chain originally based in the Pacific Northwest. That eventually led to creating another entity, which is actually a 501(c)(3) charity called 41 & Change, which initially assisted our Young Life camp in Nicaragua. To raise money, the camp was growing and selling coffee. Brooke and team helped them turn it into a viable business which helps in three ways: First, the farmers are paid wages 25% higher than what they can receive locally. Proceeds from the sale of the coffee helps send Nicaraguan youth to camp. The company also offers a fundraising opportunity to youth in North America so they can sell coffee to raise money to attend a summer camp.
Insurance in the Kingdom
One of our current staff members, Kristy Clifford, shared that many years ago, her family had a family-owned insurance company in Arlington, Virginia. They hired a former camp staff person, paid her for 40 hours a week, but told her that 10 hours of that were to do contact work. It was a huge opportunity for her to have a job in a new city, immediately be connected to the mission community, AND execute ministry in ways that most working young professionals can’t. She ended up becoming a softball coach at the high school and becoming incredibly integrated at the school, all while continuing to work her day job.
Revved Up Exposure
Joe Gibbs Racing has been a gracious partner of Young Life in their 2025 Nascar season. This partnership increases Young Life’s exposure and reach to millions of Nascar fans who have never heard of Young Life.
What does this mean for you?
If you’re a business owner, or in a position within your job where you can initiate ideas, know that these ideas shared today are just scratching the surface of what could be done to support Young Life. Your business could pour into Young Life in so many ways, and we genuinely WANT to hear your ideas. Know your profession is part of your calling and your ministry to those in your community. It’s not an accident you are in the role you are in today.
Consider and pray how God may want to use your business to further God’s Kingdom. Get creative with him and see what ideas come to mind. Then, reach out to your local Young Life staff person and ask who else you should talk to about your ideas. We want to get creative with you!
Now, if you’re reading this and feeling discouraged because you’d like to do something epic with a business and Young Life, but you just aren’t in that position right now, guess what?! You can still make a difference. A simple way to do so is by supporting the businesses you see around you who are doing good business to support local causes. Pay attention to those who are sponsoring and giving back, and let your own spending be a way of supporting not only that small business, but also supporting the related nonprofits.
And, if you’ve made it this far and you’re thinking you want to get involved in other ways, here are just a few common ways adults of all kinds, all ages, all professions can get involved with Young Life.
- Become a leader or volunteer! From opening your home to host a Young Life club to committing to be a leader within your local Young Life ministry, your local staff are always looking for more people who will say “yes” to helping further the ministry.
- Join a local committee. You can help steer the strategy and support around ministry growth, staff development, local fundraising efforts, and more.
- Donate. Support your local ministry, or mission-wide efforts to provide tangible financial resources for staffing, operating expenses, camperships, and more.
Giving back through your business is not a new concept, but in Young Life we know it makes a BIG impact. We’re so grateful for all of the corporate sponsors who have woven giving back to our ministries into how they operate. We’re grateful, too, for the creativity that comes behind it. We learn so much from the adults surrounding Young Life who are infusing their professional expertise into the conversation, making our staff and teams that much more effective at our own jobs.
Do you know a business doing something intentional to support Young Life near you? We’d love to hear about it. Contact ylcommunity@sc.younglife.org to tell us about it!
