We are now accepting registrations for DYC. What is the registration fee? Because of generosity of the Diocesan Annual Appeal this year, we have been able to discount our prices this year and offer additional incentives. The registration fee per participant is listed below: Base Registration Fees:
Youth Participants: $195 (based on 4 youth per room)
Adult Participants: $220 (based on 2 adults per room) $325 (based on 1 adult per room)
Discounts: Super Early Bird Discount: $65 off registration fees listed above if entered online by November 6, 2018 at midnight
Early Bird Discount: $40 off registration fees listed above if entered online by December 18, 2018 at midnight What are some highlights of the Diocesan Youth Conference for 2019?
Keep costs low. With our “Super Early Bird” registration option, the fee for each youth could be as low as $130 before any other parish-based incentives.
Diocesan Youth Choir. For our ninth year, we invite our youth to participate in our Diocesan Youth Conference Choir for our Sunday Mass at the Youth Conference. Participants will need to indicate if they would like to participate during the registration process. There will be no rehearsals prior to the conference this year.
Sacraments. Mass will be celebrated during the weekend on both Saturday and Sunday with all attendees. In addition, the sacrament of reconciliation will be available during the course of the weekend. There will also be an opportunity for attendees to spend some time in prayer and reflection during the weekend.
Creative Breakout Sessions. We will continue to offer more breakout sessions for adults and youth during the course of the weekend focused on particular topics that have been requested based on feedback from previous years, including several panel-type discussions.
Who should attend the Diocesan Youth Conference?The Conference is open to youth who are in 8th through 12th grade for the 2018 – 2019 academic year. No college-aged students may attend the Youth Conference. These individuals should be encouraged to attend the College Summit. If you have an 8th grader that is interested in attending, please contact our youth minister (Doyle Agnew) privately so that we together may determine if they are mature enough to socially and spiritually be fully present to the conference. Where and when is the Diocesan Youth Conference?The Diocesan Youth Conference will be held on Friday, February 8 through Sunday, February 10, 2019 at the Richmond Marriott Downtown in Richmond, Virginia. All youth and adult participants will be housed in the Richmond Marriott Downtown hotel located at 500 East Broad Street in Richmond. However, depending on registration numbers this year, several overflow hotels have been identified near the Richmond Convention Center that parishes may be assigned to if necessary. All hotels are within walking distance. I’ve heard that college students will be participating in the Diocesan Youth Conference? Is that true?Yes and no. As was the case last year, the “Summit” will be happening concurrently with the Diocesan Youth Conference this year at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. While most activities will remain separate, both the high school youth and college students will gather together for our Saturday morning Mass. All college students will have hotel accommodations in an off-site location. All registrations for the Summit are independent from the Diocesan Youth Conference. A college student in our parish is attending the College Summit, can they travel with our parish to Richmond?No. While the College Summit and Diocesan Youth Conference are both happening in Richmond, the start and end times, as well as the start location for each event is very different. We are unable to accommodate transportation around Richmond for College Summit participants who travel with your parish. In addition, we cannot allow college-aged students to attend the Diocesan Youth Conference, including staying in hotel rooms with youth or adult participants from the Youth Conference. Are we participating in a service project this year?As been the tradition for the past several years, the Diocese is partnering with “Rise Against Hunger” to package meals to support our brothers and sisters in impoverished countries who are in need. Each participant and parish are asked to prayerfully consider making a donation, in addition to their registration fee, to support this important project. The more money that is contributed, the greater impact our Diocese can have to support those in need. A donation request will be included as part of the registration process. What is the theme this year?The theme this year is Christ Our Hope. Who are our speakers this year?Sean Forrest is a missionary, author, singer/songwriter, and evangelist. He co-founded Haiti180, for which he serves as president. Haiti180 serves the poorest of the poor through its orphanage, school, nursing home/elderly care, and a state-of-the-art medical clinic. Jackie Francois Angel is a speaker, worship leader, and author from Orange County, California. In 2006, she was signed to SpiritandSong.com, a division of OCP, and debuted her first album, Your Kingdom is Glorious, in 2008. Along with being a blogger and webcast host, Jackie travels around the world preaching, singing, sampling the local cuisine, and attempting to make people laugh. Her sophomore album, Divine Comedy, was released in 2012. In 2013, Jackie married Bobby Angel, who shares her passion for Jesus, coffee, and superhero movies. They reside in Anaheim with their three young children. Please note the following:
Registration closes on January 9, 2019 at 3:00 pm.
Any registrations not fully completed in the online system will not qualify for the super early bird or early bird rates. This includes any names that are not correctly entered or anything entered as “TBD”.
The Diocese also has needs-based funding for individuals and parishes who need financial support. Please contact Mike School for more details.
What does this registration fee cover?The registration fee will cover lodging on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Richmond Marriott. In addition, Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as Sunday breakfast are included. T-shirts and a light snack on Friday night are also included in the registration fee. What is the lodging situation?Each room at the Richmond Marriott is a room which contains 2 queen-size beds. Each room will be assigned 2 adults OR 4 youth of the same gender unless your parish opts for smaller numbers of participants per room. The Office for Evangelization will combine parishes with odd numbers to maximize the room allocations. In addition, the Diocese has reserved meeting rooms in the hotel that will be used for parish evening gatherings as well as a main meeting point for adult chaperones. All participants are required to stay at the Richmond Marriott or other designated hotel for security reasons. There is NO day-only option available this year. How do I get to Richmond?Transportation is the responsibility of each parish to coordinate. Good Shepherd will arrange carpooling if we have enough participating adult chaperones to drive up to Richmond. In the event we do not have enough chaperones attending DYC this year, we will ask parents to drop off and pick up their teens in Richmond. What are the requirements for adult chaperones?For this event, 1 adult is required for every 8 youth who are participating in the Diocesan Youth Conference. In addition, adult chaperones must be at least 21 years of age. Each adult chaperone must be in compliance with the Diocesan Safe Environment Policies, which includes completing the following:
Screening One Volunteer Form (every 5 years)
VIRTUS training (once)
How do I register and what are the registration deadlines?All youth must register through their parish youth coordinator OR Catholic school coordinator. Registration forms are available in the Good Shepherd Commons at the Youth Ministry Bulletin Board.