Getting Organized for NCYC

Welcome to the NCYC Group Leader Website. Here you will find just about everything you need in order to develop a solid, safe, and faith-filled pilgrimage for the young people and adult chaperones that you will be leading to Indianaplois in November 2011.

Follow the "Ten Steps" below, each of which links to a page with specific information for that step!

Ten Steps toward a Successful NCYC Pilgrimage Experience

1. Get a Hotel
   Check out the Hotel page for a database of the many hotels.
2. Develop Your Coordinating Team
   The best NCYC pilgrimages occur because of good planning and great teamwork. You are strongly urged to put together a team of adults who will assist you in making sure this pilgrimage is both a sound and safe one for all attending. Consider recruiting (and stipending) a registrar, nurse/EMT, hotel, transportation, and chaperone coordinators to assist you on the coordinating team. Together, plan through the remaining steps.
3. Create Your Pilgrimage Plan and Budget
   Carefully plan and prepare a budget that accurately reflects what you hope to achieve with your pilgrimage. Remember to budget for ground transportation (if needed) and food. Download this budget worksheet (27 KB). Also, you may want to factor in some fundraising suggestions or possible scholarship awards as you plan and budget.
4. Develop a Promotional and Registration Packet
   Once you have your plan in place, put together an informational packet with all the costs, forms, flyers, and resources local leaders will need to promote this pilgrimage locally. The easier you make it for leaders at the local level, the more response you will get.
5. Publicize and Promote the NCYC Pilgrimage
   Promote NCYC at regional gatherings, parishes, and schools so that interested pastoral leaders, parents, youth, and chaperones can learn about this exciting event. Plan the sessions around a meal and incorporate information packets, testimonials, and pictures from past NCYCs, and show the NCYC promo video to help give leaders an ideas of what to expect when 20,000 young people gather in faith.
6. Communicate Regularly and Resource Your Group Leaders
   Be sure to give group leaders the tools and resources they need to make a successful pilgrimage. Offer fundraising suggestions, prayer and retreat formats, service opportunities, and other events groups can do to prepare for NCYC. Provide regular e-mail updates about the NCYC program and your own diocesan pilgrimage. The more preparation groups do, the clearer the message becomes that this is a journey of faith and not just another fun weekend away.
7. Prepare the Way . . . Schedule a Fall Site Tour
   Prepare the way to Indy and NCYC by planning and conducting a site visit to your hotel to talk with them about hotel about room assignments (beware of adjoining rooms!) and the check-in process. Look for nearby fast food and pizza places and strike a deal or two. Find where the closest stores, hospitals, and bus stops are and walk the area in the morning and at night to see what it will be like for the pilgrims. Take lots of pictures so you can provide a slide show for the Parent and Pilgrim gatherings you will be conducting.
8. Provide Training and Formation for Adult Chaperones
   Well trained and formed adult chaperones are the key to a successful pilgrimage. Be sure to go beyond the safe environment training and form adults as faith mentors, helping them to learn how to share their faith and lead small groups of faith sharing and prayer. Practice with them the skills needed to respectfully resolve conflicts, to anticipate pilgrimage problems, and to use some stress relief techniques when patience is tested and plans do not work out. Have a cell phone contact and communication plan for each small group and review what to do in case of a crisis or illness.
9. Gather Parents and Pilgrims Together in Prayer
   Consider planning a diocesan gathering with your pilgrims and the bishop or plan to bless the NCYC pilgrims at an existing diocesan gathering. Within two-three weeks of NCYC, sponsor regional Parent-Pilgrim gatherings to review the final logistics and pray together for a meaningful pilgrimage experience. Encourage parishes to commission their pilgrims on the Sunday prior to departing for NCYC. Present pilgrims with prayer journals that contain the daily NCYC themes and Scripture passages along with questions for daily faith sharing. Download/Adapt the following:
   • Pilgrim Prayers/Services: in MS Word docx format ; in PDF
   • Commissioning/Sending Blessings: in MS Word docx format ; in PDF
10. Make the NCYC Pilgrimage to Indy!
    Arrive one full day ahead or send a pair of team members in early to have registration complete (bring a collapsible cart). Pre-print emergency cards that fit into lanyards with all hotel and emergency contact information they will need. Rent a car to get supplies and to handle emergencies. Set up a welcome table in the lobby to meet and greet groups as they arrive and plan a diocesan "kick-off" event prior to opening program on Thursday. Pack a computer and portable printer so you can create daily information updates for your chaperones. Attend the NCYC daily briefings and schedule your own daily team and chaperone meetings to establish a regular communication loop to handle program changes, resolve problems, and support for one another. Recruit youth reporters who will develop stories for the diocesan and local papers upon their return.