Team-building games established positive camaraderie before leaving for the retreat.

Teen directors dressed up in costumes to welcome the participants as they were dropped off for the weekend.

Teens representing the Greater Fox River Valley Operation Snowball gathered at the east campus of the First Baptist Church in Geneva today (Friday, Nov. 7, 2014) before they left for their annual fall retreat in Oregon, IL.

GFRVOS is a teen-community focusing on leadership development to empower youths to lead drug-free lives.

This chapter has been operating since 1984 headed by volunteer directors, Tim Baker and Melissa Byrne. Baker points out that the organization was formed by a group of teens from Rockford that decided to create a prevention program.

“It was named after the concept of the snowball effect with the mentality that if I can impact you, and you can impact others; together we can create a significant influence on society,” he said.

The themes of the Operation Snowball retreats are always focused on making healthy life choices. Byrne notes that having teen directors like Christian Lewis and Evelyn Olivas as positive representatives set good team-morale for the entire weekend.

“Here at Snowball, we present factual information on health, and then we allow teens to break off into small groups. This really gives them a chance to share their opinion among their peers,” Byrne said.

Operation Snowball Fall 2014 Retreat T-shirts

Many Kane County high schools participate throughout the year in activities held by Operation Snowball, as well as join in the semi-annual retreats.

During the year, the organization meets on Thursdays at the Kane County Regional Office of Education to work on team building, planning for retreats, positive character building and fund-raising. GFRVOS is funded 100 percent by donations.  To make a tax-exempt donation to help support scholarships for teens to attend the weekend events, please visit our website www.gfrvos.org and click on the “donate” link.

To learn more about the Greater Fox River Valley Operation Snowball, visit the website at www.gfrvos.org. If you have questions regarding the retreat, please contact Tim Baker at tbaker@geneva.il.us or at 630-877-1308.