Taste and see! And we mean, literally go taste something amazing and see what God is doing through business partnerships and Young Life. What happens when a local entrepreneur with a heart for Young Life puts their passion to work? The possibilities are literally infinite! Around Young Life, there are literally millions of people fulfilling their callings in their daily lives, from parenting to professions, to ministry and yes, even business ownerships. There have been countless businesses that support Young Life, but the businesses we want to share about today have a really “sweet” aroma. One thing is for sure: the ideas and creativity that surround business owners working for a profit AND working for a cause are contagious!
Raley Parker, former YL staff member, now owns multiple Jersey Mikes restaurants in Pennsylvania where the restaurants have local support, but also intentional sponsorship of YL international ministry. He recently expanded the vision and brought along his longtime friend, and Young Life alumni, Josh Hicks to open a Fox's Pizza Den in Elizabeth, Colorado.
Sponsored Impact
All of these locations between Raley and Josh are actively sponsoring specific Developing Global Leaders (DGL) students with their business’ profits AND making global impact in the process. They’ve created signage sharing what Young Life is about, and more specifically, what DGL is about. They also share the photo and some general information about the student that location is sponsoring, bringing a personal touch to the impact that each purchase makes.
Local Impact
Both restaurants have amazing partnerships with global ministry through DGL sponsorship, but they also have intentional relationships with the local Young Life Areas. Students often work in the restaurants, and there are intentional programs and participation with local fundraisers. In fact, the Fox’s Pizza location not only sponsors a DGL student from Ukraine, but also helps sponsor and promote Young Life Douglas County publicly as well.
Expanded Awareness
Hicks and Parkers’ pizza restaurant in Elizabeth, Colorado is in an area primed for growth, BUT one of the interesting hitches in this location is that there is actually no Young Life club in town. Yet, this location prominently displays a Young Life logo on their signage inside where they share about the impact every pizza purchase makes. Staff wear YL gear and regularly get either questions about what Young Life is, or they get comments like “I was part of Young Life up in ___________.” It’s been a great opportunity to open the conversation up and gather information for the local Young Life Area who are building interest lists for future YL clubs.
They’ve also had a flood of local sports, schools, and other community events looking to have their pizzas at events. Hicks (local to CO) and the local Young Life staff have brainstormed opportunities for ways local Young Life leaders can participate in these events alongside Fox's Pizza. When it’s sometimes a puzzle to figure out how to get into a school or school event, Foxes is getting begged to come be part of the story. These types of collaborative efforts are helping open doors for businesses and ministry to work together and increase local awareness for Young Life Club
Unexpected Mentorship
Many of the staff at both Jersey Mikes and Fox’s Pizza are teenagers and both Raley and Josh see this as a huge opportunity to not just staff their restaurants, but to mentor teenagers as well. Raley has intentional programs with the Young Life club right there in town. However, we all know there’s so much leadership and mentoring that happens on the job site during an average day's work. The hope is that with these businesses, they’re not just supporting local or DGL ministry, but they’re pouring into the same teenagers who are needing jobs too!
These business partners, and YL alumni, are just one glimpse into the potential when creative business owners connect their business ventures with local impact in Young Life. We’re honored to have amazing partners like Raley and Josh who are willing to get creative with their families’ income while also serving the Kingdom as well!
To learn more about Corporate Sponsorships for DGL, including some of these we’ve talked about here, you can learn more at https://dgl.younglife.org/corporate-sponsors/
Written by: Valerie Morris