After a great summer of Camp NorthStar, Coach Val and NorthStar Soccer Club is ready to kick-off for her second season as Program Director. Last night was the parent information meeting, and there were a lot of new faces and kids being registered from all over the Birmingham area. While football remains a key competitor to soccer registrations each Fall, NorthStar SC is holding its own so far.

The Samford Soccer Team will be back to lead skills nights. The Division I athletes will each be assigned an age group to work with for the season in order to maximize both time and relationship opportunities for the NorthStar players and volunteers. The season's coaches are from all areas of Birmingham and walks of life, which will provide NorthStar SC participants the exposure to great leaders.

Practice for NorthStar SC begins Monday, August 23 at 5:30pm. We anticipate a great turnout in our first week of practices with registrations coming in daily. Coach Val is leading soccer clinics around inner city Birmingham this week in efforts to expose the kids in the area to the sport and hopefully recruit some players for this season or seasons to come! The game of soccer is growing all across the country and we hope to raise up some great soccer players in inner city Birmingham through NorthStar Soccer Club.

Season Details:
- U8 teams to participate in Vestavia Hills Soccer Club Rec League
- U9-U12Teams to participate in MARS League, DIII Rec Soccer (Val is League Administrator)
- Sunday, September 12 is NorthStar Soccer Day at the Samford Women's Soccer game against Tennessee Tech at 2pm.

After a great six weeks of Camp NorthStar, Paul and Val have recovered and are excited to enter into a great Fall season of NorthStar programs. This Fall we will be offering music lessons, art, dance and tutoring, as well as NorthStar Soccer. Soccer begins Monday, August 23 with practices twice a week for each of the teams (games on the weekends) and the Fall programs begin in September.

Camp NorthStar pictures can be viewed on our Facebook page. We had one of our most successful and unified summers in program history with a great staff, quality curriculum provided by Birmingham-Southern College Education Department students and especially the use of the BSC campus. All of our activities, with the exception of lunch and the various weekly field trips, were held at BSC in the Harbert and Humanities buildings. This led to the feeling of camp unity for participants, staff and parents and also facilitated Bible Camp volunteers with their planning and activity leading.

Our quarerly newsletter with information about the summer will be posted and sent out soon! We are still in need of financial support for the summer. Click Here to donate now!

Our Spring Newsletter was sent to all addresses in our database. If you did not receive a newsletter in the mail and would like to be put on the mailing list, email Paul Neville with your name and address at pneville@northstaryouthministries.org.

 Click Here to view this Spring's Newsletter!

We are in need of financial supporters for Camp NorthStar! Sponsor a camper TODAY - $100 for one week, $300 for 1/2 the summer and $600 for the entire summer.

Click Here to Sponsor a Camper

A special thanks to Bethany Gibson for leading the team to put on this year’s Spring Gala. The auction was full of items including some great vacations, two puppies, and a football autographed by Nick Saban! Thanks to all the businesses and individuals who contributed an item to the auction!

The event could not have gone better, with great food, amazing auction items, and wonderful friends to celebrate a year of NorthStar Youth Ministries in action. Paul and Val both spoke of their experiences with NorthStar and gave the challenge to the audience to jump on board with supporting campers for the summer. WJOX Radio Host Ryan Brown was the emcee for the evening and conducted the live auction portion of the evening. The highest bidding item went to Assitant Samford Soccer Coach Jay Yelton and his wife, Graham, who bid on the Watercolor vacation home.

Samford volunteers Sarah Kleban and Leah Duncan also helped create the Star Display where guests had the opportunity to purchase a star and help sponsor a camper for the summer. Stars were sold for $50 each, representing 1/2 week for one camper. NorthStar kids spent time the weeks before the Gala hand painting the stars to be sold. Flower center pieces were also sold for $100, representing one full week for one camper this summer.

The overall event raised $14,000 to be applied to Camp NorthStar.

If you missed the event, you have not missed the opportunity to sponsor a child at Camp NorthStar this summer.

$100 sponsors a camper for one week

$300 sponsors a camper for 1/2 the summer

$600 sponsors a camper for the entire summer

DONATE NOW!!! 

Thanks to our Event Sponsors!

- A-1 Products

- ACCi

- Bobby & Cam Cowen

- Elegant Earth at the Arbor

Check out our website for a full list of those who contributed auction items!

The Gala is less than one week away and final preparations are being made for the event. We have some incredible items that you will not want to miss out on!

Here is a sneak peak of the complete list of items we will have: Gala Auction Items

Don't forget to reserve your ticket if you have not already. Tables of 10 can be purchased in advance for $315. Click here to buy your tickets now!

The evening will include: Three rounds of silent auction bidding, live auction bidding, a short presentation of Camp NorthStar and NorthStar Youth Ministries, great food catered by the B&A Warehouse and fellowship with friends and supporters from all over Birmingham.

Contact Bethany Gibson (bethanygib@gmail.com) with any questions regarding this weekend's event. See you there!

NorthStar Youth Ministries is working cooperatively with the College Hills Neighborhood Association and the Southern Environmental Center to develop a project that will combine landscaping improvements, public art and youth entrepreneurship.  For more information on this exciting project check out the attached documents.  College Hills neigbors, please be sure to come to the special meeting on this project on Monday, March 29 at 5:30pm at the Southern Environmental Center on the campus of Birmingham-Southern College.

College Hills Beautification Project Overview

College Hills Beautification - More Specifics

College Hills Beautification - Proposed Budget

The Gala is less than a month away and we have some great items lined up for the live and silent auction. Here is just a small sample of some of the great items that will be at the auction. 

1. Two tickets to the 2010 Iron bowl

5. A 'Nick Saban-signed' Alabama football

Spring Gala 2010

Sunday, April 11   5 - 8pm

B & A Warehouse

come for an evening of great fellowship, food, and a silent and live auction directly benefiting northstar youth ministries.

Attire: dressy casual

Tickets are $35.00 per person

Click here for more information and to buy tickets.

Email Bethany Gibson at bethanygib@gmail.com to volunteer or make a donation!

Click here for a pdf of the event poster.

The first annual Winter Breakout 3v3 soccer tournament hosted by NorthStar and Homewood Soccer Clubs turned out to be quite successful. The event was held on Saturday, February 20, and the weather could not have been better.

Over 60 teams registered for the tournament, and all players and parents had a day full of great soccer competition. Volunteers representing NorthStar worked in the concession stand, scoring, and score running. Our score runners were the Samford Women's Soccer team. Games began at 9am and concluded around 5:30pm. Each team was guaranteed a minimum of three games, with a possible semi-finals and finals depending on standings after the round robin run.

NorthStar had four teams in the tournament - two boys and two girls teams in the U9 and U10 brackets. Though the teams did no fare as well as hoped, the players had a great experience playing against some of the best competition in Birmingham.

All proceeds will be split evenly between NorthStar and Homewood Soccer Clubs. Including sponsorships, the tournament proceeds fund the majority of the spring soccer program! Thanks to all who helped make this possible for NorthStar Soccer Club!

Visit the NorthStar Facebook Fan Page to see pictures of the great event.

Camp NorthStar/NorthStar Bible Camp is right around the corner, and we are looking for Sunday School classes, small groups or other Church groups interested in "adopting a week" for NorthStar Bible Camp. Groups who adopt a week commit to leading campers through a VBS-style week of learning God's Word and Truths.

NorthStar Bible Camp hours are from 3-5:30 at the end of every Camp NorthStar day. Groups are expected to provide their own material and lead lessons for the kids from their own curriculum.

Camp NorthStar is six weeks during the summer - June 1 - July 16.

Contact Assistant Camp Director and NorthStar Bible Camp Director Val Kikkert to reserve your week today!

valkikkert@gmail.com

office: 322-9296

cell: 586-2959

NorthStar music lessons and dance and art classes began this week. Federal Work Study students from Samford are working with our partner, Scrollworks, to offer the most music lessons NorthStar has ever offered in one semester. Registrations have increased, and we have been able to accommodate the inflow of kids from around the area. We are offering piano, drums, beginner's instrument sampler, strings and guitar. 

The Samford Dance Team offered the first dance class on Wednesday, and Art classes also taught be Samford students will begin Thursday afternoon. Among the programs to still begin are gardening, book club and Tuesday hang out group, all of which will also be facilitated by Samford students. 

This spring marks the conclusion of NorthStar's first full year in partnership with Samford University. The annual Step Sing show promoted NorthStar in February 2009, and last summer entering Samford freshmen had the opportunity to experience "Urban Adventure" at NorthStar during the summer orientation. Samford student volunteers have been actively involved in multiple areas of the ministry, all initiated and run by University Ministries.