BROOKINGS Teaching character and serving the community are the twin pillars of Trail Life, a non-denominational Christian boys group. And on Jan. 11, local Troop 5511 will put those principles into action with a fundraiser to help one of their own 14-year old Ephraim Katz, who was recently diagnosed with osteosarcoma.
Every last penny goes to Ephraim, Craig Ysbrand, Troop 5511 troop master, said. Its at Mount Calvary on Jan. 11 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Its a free-will offering pancake feed. Therell probably be some sausage and stuff like that also. Were just hoping to have people come in and donate a free will offering.
Osteosarcoma is a rare and aggresive form of bone cancer that often develops in young people.
All are welcome at the breakfast, which also features a silent auction.
Getting donated items was surprisingly easier than I thought People in this community have always been great for things like this. Brookings is a great town, and a lot of love has come out of this town, Ysbrand said. We tried to make it both guy- and mom-oriented. So weve got some hairstyle stuff as well like as one place donated like a $400 crossbow were going to raffle that one off. Thats $25 for the crossbow raffle. And for the silent auction, were going to set up a bunch of tables with the items and people can just write a bid on there. Whoever wins the bid at the end of the breakfast, they get the item.
He said helping people is what Trail Life is all about.
(Trail Life) is a boy-focused Christian organization. Its not overly preachy, because theres multiple denominations there, Ysbrand said. Were just trying to teach boys to be good Christian leaders, to be servant leaders, to have character and at the same time to act like men.
He said Ephraim has achieved the level of Trail Life navigator.
When (Ephraim) joined Trail Life in 2019, thats when I got to know his dad. Ive been kind of the leader of Ephraims group because my sons his age. So Ive followed these boys for the last four years, Ysbrand said. They live in Volga. His dad works at Daktronics. We knew them through Trail Life and hes a friend of my sons. So when the mens group at Mount Calvary wanted to team up with Trail Life to do something for Ephraim Im the troop master so thats how the fundraiser started.
He said Trail Life teaches kids to give back to their community.
People who just only focus on their own family never teach their kids anything beyond themselves I think were just doing what were supposed to be doing, Ysbrand said. So we do a lot of service projects. Like with the Optimist Club they do lots of neat things weve married up with them several times. They have the breakfast for all the police officers in town every May as a thank you. Weve helped serve food with them. Weve picked up garbage after the Hobo Day parade. Part of being a man of good character is having service involved in your life.
They also teach life skills and try to have fun.
This spring we went to Newton Hills, and we taught them to read maps without GPS but you can take a compass. Then weve done fun stuff, like I hid their food they had for supper. So they had to find their food using terrain association, Ysbrand said. Last winter, we rented out the SDSU pool. And we had them jump into the pool with all their clothes on, then they make a lifejacket. So theyve got to get their pants off and tie them in a knot theres a certain way you can put air into it and that creates a lifejacket.
He said they also emphasize leadership skills.
This summer, we went camping for five days Ephraim was part of that and the boys take turns being in the leadership role, Ysbrand said. That teaches them, if Im not in the leadership role I better work hard for the guys in the leadership role. Because if I slack off and dont do what Im supposed to do, then when Im in the leadership role hes going to have attitude. Even if youre a leader, you still follow somebody.
He said it was only natural for Troop 5511 to rally around Ephraim.
You have to take care of people, Ysbrand said. We want them to be strong men, but at the same time be loving. Thats the mix of true biblical manhood love mixed with being strong and bold, and then standing up for whats right.
Ysbrand said hes proud to be a mentor to Ephraim and the others.
It has been a blessing to me to be able to teach these boys. They are all like sons to me, he said. The mentoring also goes from the older boys to the younger boys. When I was 14 years old, the idea of mentoring would have been alien to me. My friends tended to pick on the younger boys. Our 12-14 year old navigators have done a great job of mentoring the younger boys. They understand that you can be tough and manly and still care.
More information on Ephraim and how to support his family is available through either Caring Bridge or GoFundMe.
Contact Jay Roe at [email protected].
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