Our Mission is to prevent suicide in our communities through awareness, socialization, and education.

Our Vision is to see our community fighting for the future of our young people,
and our young people actively participating in our community. 

Change in our World, Inc. is a local nonprofit, founded in and servicing Union County. Our mission is to prevent suicide in our communities through awareness, socialization, and education. Suicide in Union County is a serious issue. Our local high schools have seen many students who perform self-harm and many more unpublicized attempts. According to the CDC, Union County suicide rates have been in the top 5 per capita for several years. Due to the pandemic, new surveys show that suicide rates have skyrocketed by 51% among teenage girls according to the Daily Wire. The CDC now recognizes suicide as the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34. However, suicide is the only completely preventable cause of death through prevention.  

We prevent suicide from taking our young people by teaching the value in each individual’s life and working to establish relationships with struggling teens. Hosting events for socialization, offering volunteer opportunities, and individual counseling (one-on-one’s) are the synopsis of our work. For six years now, since 2015, we have worked in partnership with our young people. Since opening in June 2020, we are partnered with the Blairsville’s Ice Cream and Mini Golf where several young people volunteer their time with adult mentors, and we have been able to hire several others. This is a unique setup that gives us extreme flexibility with schedules, events, and such. (This is in addition to our office and use of our space in town.) 

Socialization is a major factor in growth and is consistently our number one tool for change. Through awareness and community, we meet new young people on a regular basis. Individually, we are able talk with the different young people and talk with them about what they are experiencing. Corporately, we host a safe environment for young people to meet new friends. However, most importantly, we are able to show young people that there is more to life than their current circumstances. Whether living in good or bad situations, we help young people see that there is always hope and that they have the power to change whatever situation they are in. 

This past year was a challenging year for all of us, but like most of us, we have come out the other side stronger and more prepared. Though we were not able to meet in groups on a regular basis, we spent a lot of time with one-on-one’s and completed our first book, which is now available. The text has already made it into the hands of several young people in our community and even quite a few far away. This year, we intend to make it available on other platforms such as audio and even video overview. Our goal is to keep the texts we produce free. 

As school begins once again this august, we have already been planning to begin our Change classrooms once again. This year is very exciting since we can use the ice cream and mini golf store as a meeting place where we can also provide entertainment and treats to participants. We have been discussing curriculum and field trips for this group and are excited to set the schedule. Contact us to sign up to participate!

Our events have been a cornerstone of our community involvement, and this year we are excited to bring them back! As of right now, we are planning a Christmas event once again. Also, we are discussing our New Year’s Eve Celebration once again, and we are already are signed up to participate at the Fairgrounds for at least 3 events over the next 6 months, including the Fair, the fall festival, and the Mountain Christmas Lights Festival. 

Our biggest project for the next year is to continue in producing education material that individuals, as well as groups, can use to produce change in their own worlds at their own pace. We are in the works of putting out more printed materials and will use the location and platform of the store in town for sharing our mission and message of life.

Our success is found in the testimonies and lives of the individual. We are successful when students make a new friend, get a job for the first time, or when a student tells us she hasn’t cut herself since coming to our classrooms… and when we receive a call at 1am for a ride home because they did not know who else they could call. Also, we are successful when students are well informed of the alternatives and pitfalls of getting high and partying and are choosing to find value in themselves by not giving their body to others before marriage and are making better decisions. When a student is with us at an event or field trip we know that they are safe and growing their own worlds outside of their bedroom and school.

We are finding in the return of students and young adults to Change after life position changes, that Change is a safe haven for them to return to any time they need stability. Having adult mentors and volunteers that one can call on at anytime aside from schooling or church has made a huge difference in their lives.