A new school year is under way and YOKE is off to the races! We anticipate that 27 YOKE Clubs will be taking off this month, with some already up and running. Staff, YOKE Folk, and YOKE Kids alike are all buzzing with anticipation.

“I’m excited to continue building relationships with our current kids as well as connecting with new students,” said Sarah Daves, former YOKE Kid and current Team Leader at Farragut Middle School.

With dozens of new volunteers to train and mobilize, our YOKE staff and more experienced volunteers have teamed up to host Big Clubs around the YOKE community. Big Clubs are a chance for volunteers to experience what YOKE Clubs are all about, and to learn how to facilitate one themselves. This month our team hosted Mountain Dew Club for volunteers in Blount County, Beach Club for Anderson, Jefferson, and Grainger Counties, and School Spirit Club for volunteers in Knox County.

“I’m excited for more opportunities to get pied in the face,” said Wyatt Guzman, YOKE Folk at Hardin Valley Middle, while his teammate Brandon Smith is looking forward to “not getting pied in the face this year.” (Sounds like they might make a good team!)

We’re also excited to launch YOKE at two new schools this fall – Clinton Middle and Lake City Middle in Anderson County. Neither of these schools has ever had YOKE before, but will have experienced team leaders at the helm.

Naturally, a new school year means there are lots of opportunities for you to become part of this amazing community. YOKE is always on the lookout for passionate, faithful, fun-loving, mature(ish) young adults to join us on mission. Would you consider becoming part of the YOKE family this year? If you’re interested in learning more, please contact program director Sarah Scheafnocker at sarah@yokeyouth.com, or fill out our online application to get started. We look forward to seeing you soon!