Seekers
International
Foundation

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death for college-age youth and young people between the ages of 12 to 18. (2014 CDC WISQARS) On average in California suicide is committed every two hours. Each day in the U.S., there are an average of over 5,240 suicide attempts by young people from grades 7-12. Four out of Five teens who attempt suicide have given clear warning signs and it is at this critical intersection for which we are preparing and empowering an ARMY of young people to intervene.

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Christ Jesus is the answer to this growing problem of suicide in our culture and we have strategically built a program to incorporate biblical truths and structured it for a younger audience. The base program from which our SSIC Workshop is derived, although originally developed nearly 30 years ago, it is one of the world’s leading suicide intervention training programs today. It has seen continuous revisions over the years to reflect the latest advances in counseling theory and adult learning. By implementing core Christian principles and crafting the SSIC program for our target demographic, this excellent program is even greater in scope and all the more effective in saving young lives.

With our carefully crafted materials for our young attendees, we have spread the workshop over three(3) consecutive days. The first two days are short in terms of session duration of only 3 hours each, with the 3rd day spanning six hours with regular breaks and a working lunch. We believe that the formatting of this training program is so engaging that attendees will leave equipped, empowered and eager for more; while parents will see immediate value and return on their nominal investment.

On the last day of training each attendee will receive a short survey, an official SSIC Certificate of Completion, a Resources Reference Card and information about additional training opportunities through Seekers International Foundation and the SSIC program. Because this program is being made available to both churched and unchurched young people, we include information about local partner Churches and their youth and young adult programs.

Join Our Cause

We urge you to get involved by becoming a Seekers Partner today and join us in raising up our ARMY of young people to change the world one life at a time.

Seekers Corps - "The Few. The Found. The Redeemed."

Next workshop: April 27th - 29th, 2017

Register Now!

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We provide an exciting and unique experience for young people as we partner with them and their parents for their success in life management. Depending on the community, culture and demographic for which we are working, we provide well rounded life skills training that are relevant to their specific situation. It is our belief that everyone worldwide is given certain skills, interests and talents that make them unique and we begin with an assessment to better determine their abilities and how our curriculum can best be relevant to them.

We do charge a nominal fee (based on the region) for youth enrollment in our life skills workshops, however there are amazing scholarships and grants available.

In collaboration with local, national and international volunteers, we provide life skills training from a biblical worldview in a wide array of disciplines that include some of the following:

• Home Basics: nutrition & health, child development, family resources & home management, cleaning & maintenance, shopping strategies, sewing, cooking & hospitality, formal etiquette.
• Home Economics: personal budgeting & finance with real life home budgeting projects.
• Business Preparedness: resume & cover letter writing, interview skills development, understanding business systems, personal marketing & social media.
• Basic & Intermediate Culinary Arts: principles of cooking & baking, knife skills, tools & equipment, making soups, sauces & broths, essential kitchen safety and sanitation, seasoning & flavor combinations, recipe development, science of cooking, baking & desserts, and much more.
• Carpentry & Construction: basic carpentry math skills, reading plans, blueprints & designs, understanding types of wood, lumber & common building materials, carpentry equipment, hand tools & machines, safety principles, understanding home construction, concrete work & foundations, framing principles & types, windows & doors, drywall techniques, interior finishing, plumbing and electrical basics.
• Horticulture: Introduction to horticulture, plant terminology, plant nutrition, soil management, pruning and plant care, irrigation basics, urban garden design, herbs, fruit & vegetable production, weeds & insect control, composting, and more.

All projects that are designated for sale within our cafés or online, will be sold and the proceeds will be treated as a donation and will be directed back into our programs. We desire to be a self-supporting nonprofit organization as much as we possibly can and still provide world class life skills training.

All of our programs are heavily dependent on missionaries, the church, and our local partners to meet the needs of our Seekers and our communities. If God has placed it on your heart to become a Seeker-Mentor, we would enjoy speaking with you today. You can take an active role in changing the world, one life at a time and we encourage you to make that commitment right now! You'll be glad you did!

Seekers Corps - "The Few. The Found. The Redeemed."

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Our primary focus as an organization is on our training and community service programs, however we also desire to be as self supporting as possible. Although we know that we must do support raising and rely on the donations of our partners, we prefer to have a functional revenue stream that can also be used as a training tool. That enterprise is our very own SEEKERS INTERNATIONAL CAFÉS. It acts as our face to the community and is a world class provider of coffee and pastries to our communities, that have been produced by our Seekers apprentices and Seeker-Volunteers. When our communities purchase our products, they can know for certain that 90% of the revenues that are earned in our cafés are being used directly for our Seekers programs, while 10% is going to the unavoidable administrative costs and overhead.

Along with our consumables, we will also sell a wide variety of small wood projects made by our young people that include such items as book ends, bird houses, jewelry boxes, and display cases. On the bottom of these projects there is a brand of our logo burned into the wood with a serial number. When you register with us as a partner, you can search our system for the young person who made the item. Your search will produce a short biography about them and be given the option of sponsoring them while they are involved in our programs.

Seekers International Cafés have an edgy international missions theme where different cultures and countries are highlighted every week. Pastries and treats, that are prepared by our Seekers and Seekers- Volunteers, are offered from the weeks highlighted country or region and are absolutely amazing. Missionaries that are actively serving in that part of the world are spotlighted in the café and guests are given an opportunity to learn about them and their ministries. If you want to encounter a whole new café experience with impeccable service and an incredible world class atmosphere, you need to visit one our cafés. We are certain you are going to look forward to visiting us every day.

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We believe that it is our responsibility and privilege as proactive members of society for the care & well being of our youth, families & communities. However, it starts with us taking the first step and leading by example. We partner with individuals, parents, churches and local businesses to meet the needs of the community rather than waiting for a government entity to do it for us. We desire to be relevant to our communities and provide opportunities to our youth, our churches and business partners to serve their communities. We actively search for opportunities within our communities to be proactive. A few of those activities include the following:

• community & park beautification projects
• communities gardens
• graffiti cleanup
• home fixes & restorations for the disadvantaged and elderly
• lawn mowing and yard clean up for the elderly
• feeding the homeless
• mentoring and discipleship
• pregnancy resource agency volunteering
• suicide prevention and intervention
• organized volunteer reading programs
• retirement home visitations
• parks cleanup and so much more

All of our programs are heavily dependent on missionaries, the church, and our local partners to meet the needs of our Seekers and our communities. If God has placed it on your heart to become a Seeker-Mentor, we would enjoy speaking with you today. You can take an active role in changing the world, one life at a time and we encourage you to make that commitment right now! You'll be glad you did!

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A major architectural component of our organization is the partnership program; in which we actively engage in building relationships with everyone, and invite them, their members and staff to participate with us in serving our young people, their families and our communities. It is through these partnerships that we are able to function as a nonprofit organization, offer life skills training, community service & outreach projects, operate our cafés and be a force within the community to bring hope and foster unity in Christ.

• INDIVIDUALS - We partner with benevolent people who desire to reverse the trends of hopelessness among our young people both through their financial contributions, and through their volunteering as Seekers teachers and mentors. These are people who are proactive and who desire to be a part of the solution as victors over apathy and indifference that plagues our society today.
• PARENTS - Parents play such a vital role in the development of their children and for those whose children regularly attend our programs, they are required to volunteer with us in any number of our programs and outreaches of their choice for a minimum of one hour a week or four hours a month. We believe that children learn benevolence, empathy, compassion, honesty, integrity, commitment and reliability from their parents and we want to reinforce those very ideals to our Seekers and what better way than for their own parents to model it for them. Our children are watching us all the time and our actions shout volumes over what we tell them.
• CHURCHES - We partner with churches worldwide to fulfill our common mission and purpose in transforming young lives, families and communities through Christ. One of the greatest struggles for local churches today is in being relevant to the community in which they are a part. We partner with churches to assist them in moving from the pews out into the community, where they can put their faith into action in very real and practical ways. When available and when needed during our startup phases, we utilize church partner's un-used classrooms and kitchens which bring even more youth into their churches.
  
  We also provide opportunities for pastors, leaders and lay people, who are professionals in their respective fields, to volunteer for anything from teaching bible classes to teaching classes relevant to their specific expertise. What better way to prepare a young person for life than to impart to them skills that will last their entire lifetime.
  
  Furthermore we provide logistical services in terms of setting up community events & projects, getting permits or necessary permissions, organizing the volunteers and setting up the work schedules. Our goal is to make the process so seamless for our youth and partners that they merely need to show up on the event day with their teams and get to work.
• BUSINESSES - We partner with local businesses by providing the opportunity to sponsor our youth programs and community projects, both financially and through their staff volunteering. Many organizations today encourage their employees to volunteer with community service programs, like ours, to aid in the shaping & development of future leaders and employees. As a form of social responsibility, firms are increasingly engaged in their communities and they reap the rewards of such partnerships.
  
  Partnering with us strategically does not only build up young people and the community, but it also bolsters their bottom line through; improved public image, increased media coverage, increased customer & brand loyalty, greater reach into new or untapped markets, attracts new business partners & relationships, improves employee engagement & creativity, encourages professional & personal growth, and fosters a positive work environment.
• CHARITIES - We also partner with local charities that are engaged in similar programs for our youth and young adults. We not only desire to share resources and information with them, we also support them financially as we donate 10% of our gross revenues towards their missions. What better way to bring unity to a common cause than by investing in likeminded organizations.
• SCHOOLS - In the U.S.; due to budget cuts and reduced funding to high schools nationwide, many if not all of the vocational programs that were once commonly offered are but a faded memory. We partner with local schools to offer our programs as after-school training that can change the lives of young people forever. When available and when needed during our startup phases, we utilize unused partnering school classrooms to make our trainings available to kids who may not have transportation to one of our training locations.

All of our programs are heavily dependent on missionaries, the church, and our local partners to meet the needs of our Seekers and our communities. If God has placed it on your heart to become a Seeker-Mentor, we would enjoy speaking with you today. You can take an active role in changing the world, one life at a time and we encourage you to make that commitment right now! You'll be glad you did!

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Our dynamic missions program is designed to give our Seekers a greater perspective of the world and enrich their lives with incredible life changing experiences that will not only stretch their faith and dependence on God, but also strengthen their character.

We model to our Seekers apprentices the importance of building strong and healthy relationships both personally and professionally. In addition to our regular programs, we accomplish this through both domestic and foreign missions. Our dynamic missions program is completely voluntary and is made available by invitation to Seekers who are actively involved in our discipleship programs, who are 16 years of age or older and who have expressed an interest in our world missions program.

Our mission is to bring the hope of Christ, life skills training and community service opportunities to all young people worldwide through partnerships with individuals, parents, churches, as well as public and private entities. So no matter where we go in the world, our mission is absolutely clear.

We work with national Christian pastors, missions organizations and missionaries on the mission field, to develop strategic and logistical campaigns for our Seekers to have the greatest impact during their missions trip. The great thing about missions is the life changing impact it has on both the served and those serving. Our aim is to bring glory to God through our efforts in building relationships both domestically and abroad. Whether we are involved in building projects, community enrichment activities, evangelism, church programs, life skills training for youth or any other activity, our ultimate goal is to bring the hope of Christ to the world.

Our Seekers are responsible for raising their own financial support for their respective missions trips. Therefore months in advance, we provide support raising training and counseling, while providing opportunities for them to put their support raising training into practice. Not only will this build resilience in obtaining their financial goals, it will also create in them an appreciation for the investment that will drive them to get the most out of their trip.

Join us today and see where God might take you!

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In some communities where we work, we provide after school tutoring and reading workshops. As the saying goes, "knowledge is power" and we believe that when we equip young people to read in any culture, it opens up a whole new world to them. It is a part of the building blocks of universal success that we desire to impart to them for the glory of God. This coupled with giving young people the encouragement and tools they need to succeed in school and in life, we achieve our vision.

We begin by interviewing the Seeker (apprentice), their parent(s) and teachers (when applicable) to determine exactly where they need the most help and how we can partner together. We then outline our short and long term goals and develop a clear plan and the steps we will need to take to ensure their success. We then connect the student with the Seeker-Mentor that will work directly with them to put their custom plan into action.

All of our programs are heavily dependent on missionaries, the church, and our local partners to meet the needs of our Seekers and our communities. If God has placed it on your heart to become a Seeker-Mentor, we would enjoy speaking with you today. You can take an active role in changing the world, one life at a time and we encourage you to make that commitment right now! You'll be glad you did!

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We encourage our Seekers (apprentices) to build lasting relationships wherever they go and we lead by example. So even after our Seekers move forward with their lives: start careers, build families, volunteer in their local churches & communities, and live life as God designed them to live; we invite them to join us in special projects and activities that demand their very unique God-given skills, interests and abilities. Some of these special projects include the following:

• New or evolving community outreach/service projects - Because our Seekers, both leaders and apprentices, are members of their local community they are better equipped to know and search for local needs and develop projects around those needs.
• Workshop & Program Design and Development - In our efforts to ensure our workshops and programs meet the needs of local communities, we invite our Seekers to participate in the development of new Seekers workshops and programs for their local community.
• Leading Seekers Missions teams to foreign destinations - An integral part of the success in our missions ministry is having leaders who are redeemed, equipped and prepared to lead small groups in international missions expeditions.
• Leading Local Seekers Workshops - As our Seekers gain experience and life skills training, we also provide public speaking experience as they take on the challenge of leading a local Seekers Workshop(s).
• Becoming a Seeker-Mentor - When a Seeker goes through our programs, they become eligible to mentor others and we encourage them to do so.
• Local Seekers Board Member - Every new Seekers-Village will have a Seekers board that participates in the establishment and development of the new village. Having local people involved in every step of the process will ensure the local needs are being met.
• Seekers Planters - Perhaps they move to a new city and would like to plant a new Seekers- Community.

All of our programs are heavily dependent on missionaries, the church, and our local partners to meet the needs of our Seekers and our communities. If God has placed it on your heart to become a Seeker-Mentor, we would enjoy speaking with you today. You can take an active role in changing the world, one life at a time and we encourage you to make that commitment right now! You'll be glad you did!

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