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The History of WPSYFC
We began our ministry to the kids in Kitsap County over twenty years ago in 1982 when our first Executive Director, Mark Halland and five community members, Glen Anunson, Conrad Green, Pete Hill, Paula Michelsen, and Jean Sherrard obtained a local chapter charter from YFC/USA. Our first ministry was to students attending North Kitsap High School. Mark left his pioneering work in 1986 and was replaced by Chris Clark, a local person, who greatly expanded the campus related ministries throughout Kitsap County. Chris also introduced ministries to teens who were not reachable though school based ministries using foster care, youth guidance and neighborhood ministry models.
Ricki Lee Brooks replaced Chris and focused our ministries on church partnerships and supporting student-led ministries. He also strengthened our signature event, BIG SPLASH as well as adding other large outreach events.
Our present Executive Director, Bob Cassis, was hired in July 1999. His background as an ordained minister and a line officer in the Coast Guard matched the Board?s objective of strengthening and extending our campus related ministries. Our strategy for extension is to begin a JV ministry at a local junior high or middle school and two years later open a Campus Life ministry to the high school that our alumni attend. Since Bob's coming, we have added all of Mason County to our area of responsibility and added Campus Life ministries in Belfair, Grapeview and Shelton. We opened Campus LIfe in South Kitsap in 2003. We have also expanded our Coummunity Ministries by revising our foster care program to better reflect our mission, increasing the size of our foster care independent living skills program and adding a Youth Guidance ministry for young people in the Kitsap Juvenile Detention Center.
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