Dear Support Team,  As you have most likely heard by now, One-Eighty Programs has started a brand new “gap year” type program for young adults called “The Central Street Residency.” This program is designed to give students an unprecedented opportunity to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually while doing life on mission with One-Eighty Programs.  We’re halfway through our pilot year of this program and we’re already seeing results we never imagined. Each of our three residents have taken to their task, demonstrating a deep commitment to their journey here and a passion for the kids and neighborhood that only seems to grow deeper with each passing week. They’ve faced enormous challenges, some of which we’ve already shared about in these letters. Real danger has always lurked in the neighborhood, with local gangs posturing and exchanging gunfire on our residents’ corner. .. (Click the PDF to read the rest!) Thank you for your love and support. The One-Eighty Staff

Dear Support Team,  It’s currently 11:43 AM on December 12th, and Alison & I would like to share our last 24 hours with you.  Yesterday at this time, we were meeting with a local high school principal. We were excited to share about our counseling services and the One-Eighty Central Residency, which is just about 6 months into its pilot year. It is a small Christian school that sits about a mile south of our campus on the same street. As we sat and swapped stories of the beauty and brokenness of our shared neighborhood, we couldn’t help but feel that God has taken a special interest in the Central Avenue corridor. It was a successful meeting—we’re now looking forward to providing mental health resources to the campus, offering our one-year internship to graduating seniors, and working together to bring hope to the East side.  (Click the PDF for the full story and more!) Thank you for your love and support. Merry Christmas, The One-Eighty Staff

Dear Friends of One-Eighty, “I can’t believe we just did that...” Sitting in the warm sand, a teenaged girl named Claire was looking up, shielding her eyes slightly from the mountain sun. Unlike the others in the group, though, her attention wasn’t on the lake. Instead she sat with her back to the water, staring at the nearly 10,000’ peak that dominates the skyline on the southwestern shore of Lake Tahoe... (Click the PDF for the full story and more!) Thank you for your love and support, The One-Eighty Staff

Dear Friends of One-Eighty, Walking into the teen center today, I was joined by Misty, who was returning her collection of large bags containing dirty, roughed-up soccer balls, kickball bases, and jerseys. Rounding the corner, Cameron was pushing a cart loaded far beyond it’s max weight capacity with waters, snacks, and juices. He was on his way to deliver supplies for another school’s final “lunch on the lawn.” Like all our school-based mentor/coaches, Cameron and Misty have been doing this all year. They have organized lunchtime sports, provided mentoring and coaching for students, and served our title-1 campuses in any other way the school needed. And now, at the end of the school year, it’s all winding down... (Click the PDF for the full story and more!)

Dear Friends of One-Eighty, I’m sitting here at the Teen Center on a Thursday afternoon, and I can’t help but smile.  Josh, our resident substance abuse specialist, is shooting a game of pool with a student. Morgan, our Assistant Teen Center Director, enters applications at the front desk while a cadre of teen girls tell her about their day. Tess, a local artist, is making friendship bracelets with students behind the cafe counter. And Alexus, one of our amazing interns, is making a specialty coffee drink in the background, making the cafe run. Fifteen minutes ago, I sat at the front desk across from two boys who had both lost their dads and who both described the experience of feeling like they had the support they needed through the staff at this teen center. This is the first time I met them (I don’t generally work the front desk these days), but because of the atmosphere the One-Eighty staff have created, they assume that I, too, am going to be there for them.  It was a special moment, and it reminded me of a clear fact: Our young staff are truly the heartbeat of this organization.  I’ve honestly lost count of how many staff have come through the teen center to serve. It has to be over 100 by now. Each one has built special bonds and memories with students, bringing hope and possibility into their lives. Most of them would say that in their time here, they were more changed than any of the students they served You see, spending a year or more with kids like these has the potential of changing your life. They come through the doors with all the life and energy of youth, but so many of them come carrying unbelievable pain and brokenness as well. To have the honor of walking these kids through those struggles, living in the tension with them, and knowing that you might make a true difference in their ultimate outcome… It’s deeply moving. Over the past year, we have been re-crafting our internship program with this reality in mind. We’ve recognized that our younger staff have the chance to discover so much about this work, themselves, and the way God operates in the broken spaces and places in this world. So over the year, this current group of interns has gone through a brand new program. They’ve pressed deeply into this time of learning and growth. They’ve each connected with a dedicated mentor. They’ve undergone personality and job placement tests. They’ve gone through intensive biblical and theological study. They’ve cross-trained into every leg of our organization, working on campus, doing adventure programming, and engaging in community development.  One of their final projects this year was a volunteer appreciation lunch, which they organized and led on their own. At the end of lunch, they each shared their stories of transformation throughout their internship. It was truly one of those moments that you had to be present to understand. It became clear to all in the room that these three young people had their worlds changed, and were each going on to be world-changers in their own way.  As our supporters, you need to know that your contributions are being multiplied far beyond the students and community in Lodi. They are going to reverberate far into the future through these amazing staff. Thank you!  Serving our Youth, Jake and Alison McGregor  Executive Co-Directors One-Eighty Programs

Dear Support Team,  Q: Where might you find 40+ grown adults playing the old playground game “steal the bacon” with a rubber chicken at midday in Lodi?  A: The One-Eighty, of course!  Each month, we (Jake and Aly) are privileged to host our entire team for an“All Staff” Training. Everyone from our college-aged interns to mental health clinicians with 30+ years of experience all gather together for a 2-hour meeting filled with fun, encouragement, and training. The All-Staff has become one of our favorite parts of the job. It serves as a reminder of just how much God has done through this little organization. Each time we gather, we’re humbled to remember the kinds of dynamic, gifted individuals he’s brought together to serve the young people of this community, and blown away as we hear the stories they bring back from the field. We do our best to give them fuel for their mission and create space for them to collaborate and build each other up. It really is a special time.  This past week, after a spirited game of “valentines day trivia,” we took the team through a vision-casting exercise. Jake began by reminding the team of our faith-based roots. As followers of Jesus, we seek to model our presence in the world after his own. One of the defining characteristics of Jesus was his compassion. In the Bible Jesus is often described as being “moved with compassion”—literally, moved in his stomach— when he sees someone hurting, sick, or in need. At One-Eighty, we encourage our staff to be paying attention when we’re likewise “moved with compassion.” When there is gang violence, when a student runs away, when a family is in danger of breaking apart, whatever the case may be, we need to allow our hearts to break when we see it. After all, to experience that pain is to feel just a tiny fraction of what Jesus feels alongside us when He sees the same.  In the next part of the exercise, Alison guided the groups through a discussion on what is “moving them” in their counseling practices, on school sites, in the neighborhoods, and at the teen center. Their responses let us know that they are indeed paying attention. From their work, they identified issues such as lack of teenage self worth/value, lack of opportunity for work for young people, a loss of societal emphasis on family/parenting, and a lack of hope. Some of the stories they shared around their tables were truly heartbreaking, but not a single member of the team was daunted. They were all optimistic that a difference could be made, which made the final evolution of the exercise really fun.  The final question for them to wrestle with was this: If we were given a million dollars to spend to meet the needs that move you, how would you spend it? It was so powerful to wander around and listen to each group begin to dream. An “intentional family program” was envisioned by our youngest staff members, where aspects of our organization would be reoriented to families rather than just teens. Our community development folks came up with a program designed to increase social mobility in our east-side neighborhoods, with job training and the opening of one or more businesses in the neighborhood that would employ  young people. Our clinicians were also all about rebuilding and restoring families, with a transitional living home (or series of homes) at the center of their plans. Families would receive intensive mentoring, and the whole program would exist in partnership with the school district so that everyone was working for the success of the family.  They came up with all that in less than 20 minutes!  We share all this with you because as our supporters, you need to know that the people you have working for this organization are amazing. They are doing far more than just a job here. They work hard, think critically, and are completely bought into the mission. They are integrated with one another, working together to bring true hope and transformation to the young people and families we serve. Perhaps most importantly, they understand what each dollar means to this organization. When given the opportunity to spend a million bucks, not a single one of them came up with an idea that seemed silly or superfluous.  Each time these people come together, we are reminded once again of the special thing God has done and continues to do here in Lodi. As always, none of it happens without you. Thank you for giving us the support we need to lead and serve these amazing people!  Serving our Youth, Jake and Alison McGregor  Executive Co-Directors One-Eighty Programs

Dear Support Team! I used to say that One-Eighty would be a temporary stop on my career journey. As it turns out, Alison and I are now in our 23rd year at this organization. I would never go back in time and tell my 22-year-old self that this would happen because that version of Jake McGregor was not mature or stable enough to handle this information without running for the hills. I had this idea as a young man that I needed to change jobs and move every few years to grow, advance, and see God do great things. [Click on the PDF for the rest of the article and our upcoming events!] Thank you for your love and support, The One-Eighty Staff