This list was contributed by Tricia Jensen
Projects must be
well thought out, planned, and goal oriented. Doing a lot of cooking last week, or
going to camp does not qualify. This is a special project that is planned and
carried out by the Laurel. (See Personal Progress Manual)
Plan and carry out New Beginnings. "When I was a Laurel, I wrote a play (one
act about 20-25 minutes) and put it on with another Laurel and a little girl from primary
for a fireside one Sunday. For another project, I got a book of cross stitch patterns from
the church bookstore (I've even seen the book on the Internet for sale) and cross stitched
all the values and meanings and the theme and pictures of the torch and each class's
picture. Then I made it into a quilt using the young women colors as borders. I still
sleep under that quilt!" --Heather
One YW did a years worth of family home evenings, with all the flannel board pictures and
props....tons of work, but what a wonderful resource for her future family as well as her
present one. --Sue
Help make awards, binders, bookmarks, or other YW memorabilia for the incoming Beehives or
upcoming activities.
Make tablecloths out of the value colors for the young women's room, pretty
value-colored posters for the values, value statements, and related scriptures. --Lisa
Leavitt
Read the entire
Book of Mormon. As you read it keep a record in a notebook of each chapter or section and
what you learned as you go along. Make it as detailed as possible. Keep an ongoing record
also of your favorite scripture references, by topic and file in a small file box for easy
reference. On 3X5 reference cards, write out scripture or key words, and why it
stood out to you.
Read the whole Doctrine & Covenants and do the same as above.
Spend at least 20
hours studying different material about the life of the Savior. Put together a
presentation and present it at a fireside for the youth. Write about your feelings in your
journal as you go along.
Read the
"Miracle of Forgiveness," look up every scripture you can find on repentance and
forgiveness, keep a journal while doing so, and make some personal goals between you and
your Father in Heaven for 3 months. Make a visual reminder.
Plan an all-night scripture-a-thon. Plan different characters from the scriptures to visit
throughout the night/evening and different discussions to keep everyone awake and focused
on the reading. --Diane
Have a clothing drive. Make boxes to place around the building and asked members donate
the clothes. Launder, separate, and fold all the donations. Take them to a shelter.
--Diane
Write an YW or YW/YM newsletter monthly for a
specified length of time. Distribute it to all the youth. --Mary
This one is almost completed by one of our girls: transpose favorite YW music into a
singable key. We purchased many copies of "I walk by faith" and received
permission from the publisher to transpose a pianist copy because we've got a room full of
altos. This girl comes to my house on Sunday afternoons to use my computer music program.
It has been really nice to use some of that music that they would otherwise screech and
giggle through. --Mary
Writing a Sacrament Meeting Program to be "performed" (probably not the most
reverent word for a Sacrament Meeting) by the youth (a Laurel did the Book of Mormon as
her theme)
Organize and lead a
ward youth choir. Create and make a collection of your own writings, musical compositions,
or graphic art work.
Take a class to
improve a talent such as singing, dance, piano lessons, etc. Maybe organize a night where
you and other young women could share their talents.
Organize & carry out a family reunion.
Create a family
newsletter for a year and distribute to all relatives every 3 months. Check with all of
them for ongoing events in everyone's lives. Have one person each month send in a
spiritual message on a certain subject. Example, have Uncle Joe send you his message
on "The Joys of Freedom" for the July newsletter. You could have crossword
puzzles, thoughts, funny quotes, funny memories, announcements, etc.
Learn signing for
the deaf and teach a song to your young women group to perform in Sacrament Meeting. If
there is a deaf branch near you, you may ask for permission to assist on a primary lesson
or help teach a group of deaf children the 13 Articles of Faith.
With the approval or member of the bishopric, organize and carry out a mission preparation
experience for the young men and young women in your ward.
Organize and implement a scripture-reading incentive program for your class. You may want
to invite the young men to participate.
Learn about or develop a system for organizing information or materials and begin your own
system.
Complete a certain
first-aid course, including CPR training, and serve as volunteer in teaching first-aid
skills.
Plan and care for a vegetable garden or maintain your family's or someone else's yard for
three months without pay.
Prepare 72 hour kits for each member of your family and present a FHE lesson on emergency
preparedness. Help plan a family emergency plan.
With the approval of your bishop and the mission president responsible for you area, work
with full-time sister missionaries on a regular basis. With the approval of a member
of the bishopric, organize and conduct a cultural arts event for your ward or community.
Coordinate this activity with the ward calendar through you Young Women President.
Put together a "Plan for College" evening or Saturday afternoon for the young
men and young women with sessions on college preparation, scholarships, high school
academics and other associations (clubs, etc.), study habits, budgeting, cooking, etc.
Choose a career
field in which you have interest. Contact someone in that field and volunteer your time to
learn about that specific field.
Make something that could be of value to your posterity such as a piece of
needlework, a family flag, a coat of arms, or a quilt.
Write your own
personal history (Journal Jars). Put together
an "Individual Worth" photo album. You can focus on your strengths, talents,
etc. Mix in with the photos some of your favorite scriptures and thought.
Plan and complete a personal history on each parent, and all your grandparents. Type them
up nicely and present them as gifts to other family members.
Work with parents to prepare names for temple work. Make barrettes or hair
scrunchies for at the temple or temple clothes for children being sealed to their parents.
Learn to sew and
make some baptismal clothes for the ward.
Plan and organize a service day for where you can go serve in different places for
different people.
Plan and organize a
children's "Olympics" in your ward. Talk to the Primary president and ask for
names of children who are less active or are struggling. Make it a whole day event. Plan
fun events and have awards at the end. Make sure each group gets an award of some kind.
You could make the events gospel related.
Make a "this is your life" quilt for you, a parent, a church leader or an
"appreciation" quilt for the bishop, stake president or stake patriarch.
Make a
"friendship quilt". Hand out fabric squares to your friends, have them decorate
them and give them back to you. Make a quilt to help you remember each friend through the
years.
Volunteer at a service center - Schedule and plan specific times at a domestic abuse
shelter or homeless shelter for the children to make Christmas ornaments and the moms
could do a craft. On other months besides Christmas you could do other crafts, stories or
skits. Call local florists and see if they would donate flowers. Put together little
booklets called "Messages of Hope" for the women. In the booklet put quotes on
hope, courage, and determination from church leaders. Fun songs and skits but also some
that will touch their hearts, i.e. You're Not Alone, Walk Tall, etc. Get permission
to make little loaves of banana bread for the moms and little goody bags for the kids.
Make finger puppets
for a children's hospital. When they prick fingertips, they like to give them a finger
puppet because they do it so often. Children's Hospital in Seattle goes through 50 each
day.
Organize a
children's used video drive to donate to a children's hospital, homeless or domestic abuse
shelter.
Sew flannel receiving
blankets for babies at a children's hospital.
Volunteer your time to go
visit an elderly person in our ward on a regular basis. Offer to do housework or just sit
and talk. Offer to do Personal History for an elderly person in ward. Interview
them, get it organized and type it up for them.
Offer to organize things such as photos or paper work for elderly person in ward.
Learn how to crochet (try Leper Bandages)or quilt.
Make 1st college blanket, make 1st wedding quilt, or make 1st baby blanket for yourself or
for someone else.
Put together a family cookbook with favorite
recipes. Give to family members as gifts. Familiarize yourself with the recipes and learn
to make them as you go along.
Help and plan a "jam" session for the young women in your ward and learn how to
make and can Jam. You could have "jammin" music playing (appropriate of course)
and "jam" away!!!!
Learn how to stencil, wallpaper and paint. Redo a room in your house. Color Washing
Walls is a lot of fun!!!!
Plan and organize a
"Parent's Prom" for the couples in your ward. Collect high school pictures of
them, vote on a king and queen, play their favorite music, etc.
Volunteer at a veterinarian's office or the Humane Society.
Pick a personal challenge (spiritual or physical) and set up
a progress/program to strengthen yourself in that area. Organize and come up with a game
plan to go by for at least 3 months. Make a visual display to remind yourself. Write about
it in your journal as you go along.
Learn to do woodworking and make yourself a hope chest.
Coach or run a tournament for a YW sport.
Personal
Progress
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