Oakland Raiders Chaplain will serve as an Advisor to the Republic of Burundi

Nov. 5, 2010 - PRLog -- ALAMEDA, CA- The Honorary Ambassador of Republic of Burundi to the United States, Dr. Clyde Rivers, is conferring Chaplain Adam Ybarra to serve as an International Youth Development Advisor for the Republic of Burundi Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. at the Bridge Point Church in Alameda.
Ybarra traveled through Africa with Cleveland Browns defensive end Kenyon Coleman and six businessmen, where they donated $60,000 toward school and health projects in Burundi and Uganda.
    “ I was moved and touched with the man’s heart and passion to reach youth,” said Dr. Rivers. “When I’d learned about his life commitment of helping youth to discover their purpose; creating a curriculum and training hundreds of high school students, I went to our board and requested this man’s work to be recognized and honored.”
While in Uganda, Ybarra met with the country’s First Lady Janet Museveni, who invited him to introduce his youth curriculum, RESH 180, to  Uganda’s  National Youth Forum. Also, Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza opened the door for RESH 180 in his nation. The 13-day journey was featured as a Documentary that won an Emmy Award in July.
Ybarra developed the youth motivation curriculum and program on DVD called Raising Expectations, Standards and Honor (RESH 180). His goal is to reach one million students, providing tools to help them discover their purpose, raise their expectations, and provide a new lens with which to view the world.
   As the NFL’s first Hispanic team chaplain, Ybarra has been spiritually guiding Raiders on and off the field since 1999. He has teamed up with NFL greats like All-Pro and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, and Cleveland Browns Kenyon Coleman to present ‘Take a Stand,’ an annual youth motivational event held in Super Bowl cities the week before the sporting event. The RESH values are the foundation of the program.
   “The principles I’m learning from RESH 180 have provided a new lens to help me to become purpose-driven in everything I do,” said Quentin Groves of the Oakland Raiders.
   “I was exposed to RESH 180 in my rookie season,” adds Coleman. “Hands down it was exactly what I needed to help me excel on and off the field.”
   Ybarra knows what it’s like to have no hope or motivation. Growing up in San Jose, California, Ybarra found himself a child of divorce and welfare, and turned to using and selling drugs to survive. It was only after attending a Christian youth rally in Denver that he turned his life around.
“I prayed, ‘God, I promise to serve you with all my heart and whatever you want me to do, I will do,” Ybarra said. “As a result of this prayer, God proved to be faithful. I’ve been able to accomplish more than I ever would have dreamed.”
Aside from his NFL Chaplain duties, Ybarra serves as Pastor of the Bridge Point Church in Alameda that recently opened in April. His non-profit organization, The Tenacious Group is a member of the City of San Jose’s Mayor’s Prevention Gang Task Force.

Visit the RESH 180 website  
http://www.resh.org  and  http://www.thetenaciousgroup.com

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The Tenacious Group is an organization committed to provide services to help young people become all they were designed to be. Since 1996 we have reached thousands of young people across America and in Africa. Our message is of purpose and destiny.