UPDATE, June 1, 2017 / Beginning at 5:30PM on Wed., June 7, Meson Sabika again will host the annual fundraiser for the JKB Experiential Education Foundation. The cost is $75 per person. Every single dollar from ticket sales goes directly to support JKB camp and leadership programs.
All are welcome to the casual evening featuring fun and fellowship along with tapas, sangria, a Spanish wine tasting, raffles and a silent auction.
For more information, calendar of upcoming events or tickets online, visit www.jkbfoundation.org/.
Guests also are welcome to pay at the door.
The Pavilion at Meson Sabika is located at 1025 Aurora Ave.
UPDATE, June 16, 2016 / Thanks to the generosity of host Meson Sabika, supporters were treated to a good time to learn the latest about the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Camp, now held at Monmouth College. For 22 years, Colleen Malany has been guiding sophomores during a one-week summer camp devoted to interactive leadership training experiences and lifetime skills. Many of the happy campers, now into their late 30s, were in attendance at the special event on June 15 held in the Pavilion at Meson Sabika.
For more information about JKB Experiential Education Foundation, visit www.jkbfoundation.org/.
Above / With past campers behind her, Colleen Malany welcomed guests who attended the June 15, 2016, event in support of Leadership Rooted in JKB. During June and July, teens from eight area high schools, including Naperville Central and Waubonsie Valley, will attend one of the four one-week camp opportunities at Monmouth College.
Original Post, May 2, 2012 / J. Kyle Braid Leadership Foundation makes a difference for local teens
When 14 high school students and one young Army veteran spoke at a complimentary community breakfast at the Naperville Country Club on May 2, 2012, attendees learned about the experience at the J. Kyle Braid (JKB) Leadership Ranch and how it’s been shaping many young lives for 18 years.
During introductions, Naperville Central High School teacher Barry Baldwin gave a brief overview of the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Foundation where he serves as a board member.
Guests heard the J. Kyle Braid story and how a parent’s worst nightmare has been used to turn unthinkable tragedy into thoughtful purpose. It’s about how one young man’s journey became the catalyst to teach leadership skills to tens of thousands of young people across the northeast U.S. at a ranch in Colorado. In Chicagoland alone, some 32,000 youngsters are touched daily by a group known as “JKB Kids” who attend 24 high schools in the area. This summer, 11 students from Naperville, four from Naperville North High School and seven from Naperville Central High School, will attend a week on the ranch.
Jason Henderson attended JKB ranch in 2000. A student at Naperville Central at the time, Jason today is a veteran of the U.S. Army. In his remarks at the breakfast, he credited the peer leadership training, along with learning to recognize signs of suicide that he acquired at JKB Camp and during his service in the Army, with giving him the skills he now uses at his job focused on veterans services.
“For ten-plus years, I’m still using the lessons I learned out there,” said Henderson.
Nikki Conners, a student at NCHS, said her experience at JKB Camp has given her the skills to reject negative peer pressure. All students sign pledges to stay drug and alcohol free. Many of them help with adaptive physical education to give a lift where needed. All learn how to become involved in community service.
One by one, 14 teens provided a brief statement about their commitment to listen, understand and touch lives of peers with goal setting and how to lead and share knowledge with all different personalities.
A week at ranch camp comes with a cost of $3,000 per teen. Donations of any size are welcome. A wish list of sponsored items includes everything from a set of towels for $35 to a tractor for $25,000. Spend an hour with any of these students to discover how meaningful the summer experience has been to these future citizens of our world.
A presentation about the JKB Ranch 2012 will be the featured program at the Rotary Club of Naperville/Downtown at 4:44PM Wed., May 9. Guests are welcome.
Here’s a link to the video that gets to the heart of the experience and the commitment of Colleen Braid and Ken Braid.
P.S. Click on any photo to enlarge. Then use the arrow at the left bottom corner to navigate the gallery. Thanks for reading.
