Youth (Teen) Meetings are held every Tuesday from 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. at Woodlawn Pointe Community Center.
Woodlawn Pointe Café at 702 Donaldson Ave, 78201
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What are Youth Meetings Like?
We welcome all youth middle and high school ages to come join us for a Fiesta Youth Meeting. Our youth meetings were created to provide a safe, non-judgmental, affirming place for all LGBTQ youth. Every Tuesday, our youth meet at Woodlawn Pointe to meet new friends, participate in fun games and activities (field trips, too!), and join in on group discussions. All participants must fill out contact form and sign our Fiesta Youth cyberbullying policy.
A typical Fiesta Youth meeting looks like:
6:30 P.M. to 6:45 P.M. - Social / Snack Time
Walk right on in and enjoy a snack. Don't forget to sign-in!
6:45 P.M. - Circle of Introductions (Listen up for the bell! This is our way of letting you know that we are starting the meeting.) To start off introductions, a Fiesta Youth volunteer will start off by introducing themselves - and then each person in the circle follows suit by stating their:
Name
Age
Preferred Gender Pronoun (PGP) (He/Him, She/Her, They/Them/Theirs, Ze/Zir, etc.)
Topic of the Day (e.g. What song best describes your day/week?)
7:00 P.M. to 7:15-ish - Announcements and Fun Game
At this time, Fiesta Youth volunteers will make any important announcements about upcoming events / projects. Then, everyone plays a quick activity / game.
7:15 P.M. to 8:15 P.M. - Featured Activity and/or Middle School and High School Groups
Some of our programming brings guest speakers and visitors. Volunteers work closely with these guests to provide a fun themed activity to the youth.
Alternatively, during this hour, we might split into three smaller groups for discussion on an LGBTQ-related topic: 6th-8th grade, 9th-10th grade, and 11th-12th grade. Smaller groups allows us more time to have group discussions. With this format, discussion topics are usually introduced at the beginning of the meeting.
8:15 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. - "Pass the Squeeze" Send-Off Tradition and Shout-Outs
"Pass the Squeeze" is our send off tradition where everyone gathers into a circle and joins hands. The leader will then squeeze the hand of the person next to them, who will then pass the squeeze onto the next person (without peeking, of course). The goal is to pass the squeeze back to the leader. After our send-off, we allow a couple of minutes for anyone to make a genuine shout-out. Shout-outs are special acknowledgments and appreciations to other youth and volunteers. Although compliments are always encouraged, we like to save this time for those extra special acknowledgements.
8:30 P.M. - Parent Pick-Up (Parents, Please Arrive Promptly)
That's all, folks!
We really hope you join us for a meeting and form lasting friendships! If you are the shyer type, that's O.K.! Parents and youth are always welcome to just observe a meeting for their first time. The initial part of the meeting can be nerve-wracking for some, so we want to be sure that we make all youth feel welcome.
Our policy for dressing up for our meetings and events is no hard plastic, hardened foam, or metal weapons, or weapon-like costume bits allowed at our meetings. This is for the safety of our youth. The kiddos are more than welcome to take pictures with their friends outside before/after our meetings/events with said bits, but will not be allowed to bring them into the meeting/event.
No Pressure Guaranteed!
Every Friday Night from 6:30 - 8:30 we have a special program to welcome youth to chat with friends, share your creative side by showing your art, memes, and meet new people. This is for ages 12 - 18 years of age and is monitored by our Youth Facilitator and secure. Youth must sign off on our Discord Online Code of Conduct policy. This Discord Server for youth is available 7 days a week from 10:00AM - 10:00PM.
Interested youth in signing up must fill out the Contact Form and the discord link will be sent to you vie email or text.
