Travis Karisch

Corporate Mission Statement ● A growing community of god's holy people ● Bound together and empowered by Christ's spirit ● To grow in faith, joy, love and service to all ● As a transforming witness in the world our common task is to help achieve this identity by encouraging ● A spiritual connection with god ● A loving connection with other people ● A committed connection with great cause

History of the Refuge ● The refuge was founded February 8 th, 2004 ● MDUMC decided to buy the shopping center down the street from the church in 2003 ● Most of the people working in the main office of the youth staff started out working at the refuge, like my boss mark, who is now in charge of the entire youth program

Services Provided ● The refuge serves many purposes because essentially it is an outreach area for the youth of the church ● Middle school Monday - Monday and Wednesday we provide an after school program for middle schooler’s where we help them with homework ● Fat Tuesday - This is our busiest day because we are open 3-8 and serve food to anyone that comes ● Thrifty Thursday – We are open 3-5 to high schooler’s, we mainly cater to Stratford students

Location! Location! Location! ● The Refuge is located at memorial dr ● Down the street from memorial drive united Methodist church ● It is a short drive from both Stratford and memorial middle school, the schools we cater to the most ● It is also a short walk from the park at Rummel Creek Elementary School for outdoor activities

All my friends at work ● In the youth program we have a total of only 14 employees, four of which work at the refuge with me. Ian – Love’s to read books; Huge Sci-Fi nerd. Ian love the outdoors, whether it be hiking or climbing. He love’s dogs; Ian has a Boxer-lab mix named Zoey, and went to Stratford. His favorite band is the Foo Fighters, followed closely with Avett Bros and Mumford. He love’s playing sports. Anyone will tell you sweet tea is his jam. Ian love’s to long board.

Mark - Director of youth ministry, in charge of the overall direction and vision of the youth staff and youth programs, 7th- 12th graders as well as the college kids. Steve - Director of the refuge, is in charge of staffing facility programs at the Refuge, he is also a member of the youth ministry staff

Lynell - Director of MAP, she is in charge of planning all the activities for the middle schoolers Olivia - Our kitchen manager, she is in charge of everything that goes on in the kitchen of the Refuge

Olivia, My manager ● The Kitchen Manager ● Olivia loves to cook and is a great organizer and delegator. She is a great leader and she has been working in the youth program for five years. ● Olivia is in charge of making sure me and my co- workers are always on task and know what we’re doing, she plans the menu every week and does stock and inventory, she does the shopping and is in charge of quality control, she is our own personal nutritionist.

Job requirements ● There are no requirements for working at the Refuge ● Have to be at least a junior in highschool and be passing all of your classes ● You have to be committed to the job ● Be positive at all times and have a good work ethic ● Must be patient and work well with children ● Must be a fast learner

My typical day interning ● Help the middle Schoolers with their homework ● While Tuesdays and Thursdays we are open to the public and serve food ● Fill the ice machine and put out cups next to the cash register ● Make sure all the doors are unlocked and all the lights are on ● Cook ● Clean all the dishes and then sanitize the kitchen

My personal job description I am a middle school after school program counselor, I maintain the kitchen and game room of the Refuge, cook and serve after school snacks, coordinate activities, and help middle schoolers with homework and help keep them safe. On days where the middle schoolers get out of school early I go with the kids to get ice cream or do other activities.

Training supervisors ● Steve – Steve has a wife and two kids, and loves his job working on the youth staff at MDUMC. His favorite color is yellow, with blue at a close second and went to Westchester in high school, after that he went to Southwestern University in Georgetown then South Texas College of Law and St. Thomas University – Graduate School of Education. Steve is in charge of the refuge, where I work.

Training supervisors ● Lynell - Lived in Canada for 5 years. Went to Memorial Middle School and Spring Forest Middle School. Westchester Senior High Grad – before it was an Academy – Lynell was a Wranglerette and Newspaper editor. Went to Trinity and Texas A&M. Met Kim(her husband) at Texas A&M on the Drill Field after lacrosse practice and loved him and lacrosse ever since. She’s been married for 39 years, has 2 sons, Kyle (grandson, Cade) and John (wife, Wynne). She also has three dogs.