Jessica Speares Joins Staff

Please join us in welcoming Jessica Speares to our staff as a full-time youth worker under the auspices of the Rochester Youth Year (RYY) program. After developing Rochester Youth Outreach (RYO) this year with Greg Lewis and a team of volunteers from Roberts Wesleyan College and Elim Bible Institute, Jessica applied for the opportunity to serve with RYY this spring and received one of the 3 awards offered to area college students. She'll be spending her summer lining up next fall's team for an expanded RYO program, working with Sandi Clawson and Embracing Options developing a screening outreach for sexually transmitted illness (STI), and preparing a presentation at City Hall as part of RYY's summer Urban Fellows Program.

Last summer Jessica conducted a neighborhood health care survey that identified youth ministry as a primary need in our community. Further evaluation of health care statistics has revealed that youth STI and abortion rates are among the nation's highest in Rochester's inner-city communities.

After completing her work with His Branches next year, Jessica is planning to go on to become a Physicians Assistant with the goal of working as a missionary in underserved communities.