Home  --  YW ideas  -- My Favorite Links   E-Mail Me Your Ideas

For New Beginnings, we did a newscast. During our newscast, there were 7 short commercial interruptions from "our Value Sponsors." The girls not a part of the script were grouped and assigned to come up with and perform a commercial on one of the seven values. They were encouraged to be as creative as they wished with props, music, costumes, or nothing but them! Like any commercial on TV, it should be short and witty. For ideas, watch a little TV. Some commercial ideas are:

*    A "greatest hit" collection of song excerpts illustrating your value.
*    A "Good Works" charge card—don’t leave home without it!
*    Imperial Margarine "fit for a king"
*    A new shampoo, cereal, or other product.

The most successful commercial ideas seem to be ones that can build on a recognizable TV commercial.

Props:
We set up an anchor table with a microphone (not live) and a small easel to put each value up on as the commercial was announced. Behind the anchor desk we made a cityscape on paper with the YWNews logo across the top. We had a larger easel off to the side for the calendar. Running time for this script is 20-30 minutes maximum.
Submitted by:  Michelle Birkinsha, Wyoming Ward, Grand Rapids MI Stake

SCRIPT:
                               YWNews

Anchor 1: Good evening and welcome to YWNews. I’m ___________________ bringing you our special new year’s report on the Wyoming Ward Young Women Program. With me tonight is __________________________. [usual TV anchor greetings]. Tonight we’ll be bringing you all the latest in Personal Progress, Values, goal setting and accomplishments, as well as this year’s calendar. But first, a word from our Value Sponsor. Please say tuned.

[COMMERCIAL—FAITH]

Anchor 1: Welcome back. Our top story tonight is of a very special celebration taking place this year for young women worldwide. 1998 has been designated by the First Presidency of the Church as a year for focusing on the family. Here to tell us about this celebration is our World News Reporter ___________________.

Reporter: Hi, ________________. What an exciting opportunity each young woman of the Wyoming Ward has to participate in this celebration this year. As you mentioned, the focus will be on the family. The official theme is "Turning Hearts to the Family," in the hopes the young women will draw closer to their own families. Each girl will receive a copy of the Church’s official proclamation on the family which was issued in 1995 by the prophet himself. Each is encouraged to read and study it and set goals that relate to her family and improve relations between family members. At the end of the year, the Wyoming Ward will have a culminating activity in November to celebrate Turning
Hearts to the Family.

Anchor 2: Do we know any details about ongoing events during this celebration, _________?

Reporter: Well, we know that this year’s mutual activities and personal progress goals will be tied to this theme as much as possible. The Wyoming Ward Young Women leaders have broken the theme down into three parts: First, ancestral families. Each girl is invited to prepare a family name she can take to the temple and perform the baptism work herself at the temple. The girls will also be involved in activities such as preparing family histories, and perhaps learning more about their parents and grandparents. The second part is present families. Activities for this part might include service projects with their families, or service for their families, and learning to enjoy each family member. The third part of the theme is future families. The girls will focus on preparing themselves to be wives and mothers and work toward temple marriages.

Anchor 1: Wow! What an exciting story to start us out tonight. We can’t wait to bring you further reports on this celebration of the family. Sports are up next after this word from our Value Sponsor.

[COMMERCIAL—DIVINE NATURE]

Anchor 2: If you’re just now joining us, tonight we are here with our special report on the new year for the Wyoming Ward Young Women Program. I’m ________________ and with me is ___________________. We have a sports update now from _____________________. What’s the latest news on goals?

Sports Reporter: I’m glad you asked. The Wyoming Ward team is at it again. An amazing number of goals have been made this season by the Wyoming Ward team. In fact, ______ (number) of players are receiving tonight recognition for the completion of 28 goals each! That’s a statistic that takes 2 years to reach and requires incredible stamina and courage. Each recipient of tonight’s Age-Group Recognition award has had to demonstrate skill in journal keeping, attending Church, studying the scriptures, standing for truth and righteousness, and understanding the Young Women Values. They have also demonstrated grace and balance as they have covered every part of the field from school, school groups, after-school activities, and family life. What an accomplishment for these girls!

We go now live to (YW President) for the presentation of their awards. (YW President):

[PRESENT RECOGNITION TO GIRLS]

Anchor 2: Wow! What a motivating story! Let’s go to our locker room reporter ________________ who is with the award recipients now.

Locker Room Reporter: I’m here at the 56th Street Coliseum where awards have just been presented to  ______________________ _______________________. What an accomplishment! You must feel really good about what you’ve done. Has fan support helped make this a winning season for you?

[girl answers spontaneously]

Locker Room Reporter: ____________, what was your strategy in finishing all those goals?

[girl answers spontaneously]

Locker Room Reporter: This is ___________________ live from the 56th street coliseum. Back to you in the studio, _____________.

Anchor 2: Thanks, ___________. We were interested in finding out just why the Wyoming Ward Young Women are so busy setting and working on all those goals, so we assigned our roving reporter ____________ ______________ to find out and report back. She’ll be speaking to us in just a moment after this word from our Value Sponsor.

[COMMERCIAL—INDIVIDUAL WORTH]

Anchor 1: Hi and welcome back. We were just going to our roving reporter to find out why the young women are so busy setting and working on so many goals.  ________________, what have you found out?

Roving Reporter: Well, ________________, I asked a few girls and leaders why they bother to set and work on goals in the personal progress program. Here are a few of the responses I got:

" My mom makes me come to mutual every week and checks up on me to make sure I am doing something."

"I like the feeling of accomplishment I get when I complete goals and have my leaders sign them off."

"I try to do as little as I can, but everyone makes me feel guilty if I don’t do something once in a while."

"It gives the girls a chance to discover their talents and abilities and improve on them. They also learn how to start and finish things."

"Setting goals and accomplishing them now helps us prepare for life. We’ll always have things to accomplish, and learning goal-setting skills now makes it that much easier for us later in life."

"The Personal Progress Program is one that hopefully these young women will continue throughout their lives. The ultimate goal is, after all, to perfect ourselves—to become like our Savior—and this program simply teaches us how to begin that process and form the habit of daily self-improvement."

Roving Reporter: Well, there you have it. I think it’s pretty clear that these young women have a good idea of the importance of setting goals and are well on their way to developing their divine potential in becoming righteous women. Back to you, _____________.

Anchor 2: Thanks for that report, _______________. We now pause for another word from our Value Sponsor.

[COMMERCIAL—KNOWLEDGE]

Anchor 2: Welcome back. We have with us tonight our church House Correspondent ____________________. [turn to correspondent] I understand you have been doing some research into the basic theme behind the Young Women Program and are here to explain it to us.

Correspondent: Yes, ________. I wanted to know the foundation of the Young Women Program, and what, if any, difference there was in the focus for each age group. I discovered that the Young Women Program is rooted in the basic mission of the Church: to proclaim the gospel, perfect the Saints, and redeem the dead. Each Sunday the young women recite together their Theme. Can we run the clip and hear the group
repeat that theme?

[Have group of girls come forward and recite the Theme]

As you see, each part of the Church’s mission statement is mentioned in the Theme. They "proclaim the gospel" by "stand[ing] as witnessed of God." They "perfect the saints" through the seven values. And they participate in "redeem[ing] the dead" by preparing themselves to "make and keep sacred covenants" in the temple.

Anchor 1: __________, did you discover any difference in focus for the various age groups?

Correspondent: Yes, ____________, as a matter of fact I did. I asked three young women to come to the studio tonight to help me explain what they call their Age Group Mission Statements. Ladies. . .

Beehive: "A Beehive becomes a Young Woman of Truth as she follows the promptings of the Holy Ghost, seeks truth, and strives to live and share it." During our Beehive years, we are encouraged to seek to know the truth through prayer and by listening to the Holy Ghost. This builds a foundation for our testimonies. Our symbol is that of a young woman praying.

Mia Maid: "A Mia Maid becomes a Young Woman of Promise as she honors her baptismal covenant to keep God’s commandments, to receive his blessings, and to have his Spirit to be with her as she builds a loving relationship with her Heavenly Father and those around her." As Mia Maids, we learn to make and keep promises, especially promises to our Heavenly Father. We study the scriptures to better understand the promises we have already made and to prepare ourselves to someday make special covenants with Him in His temple. Our symbol is an open book of scriptures.

Laurel: "A Laurel becomes a Young Woman of Faith as she more fully experiences the Savior’s love and prepares to receive the ordinances of the temple by living, teaching, and sharing the gospel." We Laurels are developing independence, so we choose our own goals to work on, building on the things we have learned as Mia Maids and Beehives. We begin to assume responsibility for our spiritual lives and increase our
testimonies of the gospel through study and prayer in preparation for the day we can enter God’s sacred temple. Our symbol is the temple.

Correspondent: Thank you, ladies. And that’s my report, __________________.

Anchor 1: We’re going to take a break now for this word from our Value Sponsor.

[COMMERCIAL—CHOICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY]

Anchor 1: Just a few moments ago, we received word from our churchhouse correspondent that the Young Women President has released to the press the names of the new Beehives. I have that list right here. [read list] How exciting for these young women to be entering the program. [touch ear like someone is talking into your microphone] It appears our roving reporter is on the scene with the parents of some of
these young women right now. Let’s see if we can get some reaction to this news. ___________, what’s happening?

Roving Reporter: I’m at the Church and everyone here is very excited about these girls entering the Young Women Program. I have some of their parents with me right now. Excuse me, Sir, could you tell us what you think of your daughter entering Young Women?

Parent: spontaneous response.

Roving Reporter: And you, Ma’am?

Parent: spontaneous response.

Roving Reporter: Here’s the bishop. Let’s see what he has to say about these young women. Bishop, how important is it for these young ladies to participate in the Program?

Bishop:

Roving Reporter: Thank you, bishop. I think. . .oh! There’s the Young Women President who made the announcement just a few moments ago. Sister _________! Sister ________! How do you feel about these young women entering the program?

YW President:

Roving Reporter: It appears that everyone couldn’t be happier to have these girls joining their group. We welcome them and wish them every success in the program. _____________. (smile and wait for anchors to take over).

Anchor 1: It looks to be a busy year for the Wyoming Ward Young Women. I know they have plenty to keep them busy with the usual Mutual night activities and other events we’ve already heard about, but I’m sure that’s not all they have to look forward to this year.

Anchor 2: That’s right, ___________. We’ll be back in a moment with our Calendarwoman, __________________ to talk about it. Don’t go away!

[COMMERCIAL—GOOD WORKS]

Anchor 2: And now, here’s our Calendarwoman to fill us in with the rest of this year’s events.

[have a large posterboard mock-up of a calendar and point to it like a weatherman points to his maps!]

Calendarwoman: Hi! This year you can expect a warm front on the fourth Sunday of each month as the youth gather for their ward firesides at 7:00 pm. Periodic updates will announce speakers and locations as each fireside front aproaches, so be sure to listen to future broadcasts. Monthly Stake Youth Activities are an important part of the calendar pattern, and you can expect showers of fun on the Saturdays they are held. The Grand Rapids Stake is currently under a snow advisory for the Stake Youth Fireside to be held on March 15th at 4:45 pm, immediately after Stake Conference. Watch for scattered flurries of activity as everyone prepares to be there. We are also under a Calendar Alert sweeping the country from Salt Lake City, Utah outward for March 28th when all young women are invited to attend the General Young Women Broadcast at 8:00 pm at the Stake Center.

For those of you looking farther forward in the Calendar Pattern, the youth temple trip is heading our way on April 10th; showers of fun will hit the Grand Rapids area for 2 days as Youth Conference takes place July 17th and 18th; the week of August 17th will be a hot one as the Girls Camp campfires start burning; and the scheduled Stake Standards Night on October 17th should cool everyone off for a while. I hope this brief forecast will help you better prepare for this year. Back to you, ___________ and _____________.

Anchor 1: I’m really looking forward to that Young Women Broadcast in March, aren’t you?

Anchor 2: Yes, I am. And those monthly Stake Activities look to be a lot of fun for the young men and young women. I understand January’s activity will involve volleyball and tacos.

Anchor 1: That’s right. We’ll pause now for another brief message from our Value Sponsor.

[COMMERCIAL—INTEGRITY]

Anchor 2: Well, that appears to be all for our broadcast tonight. Thanks for joining us here at YWNews and have a great year with the Wyoming Ward Young Women!

Anchor 1: Goodnight from all of us here at YWNews.