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WORK TITLE: Riley Unlikely
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://generationnextcares.org/
CITY: Branson
STATE: MO
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://generationnextcares.org/about.html * http://www.projectinspired.com/how-one-girls-mission-trip-turned-into-a-movement-rileys-story/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born c. 1997; married Graham Snyder.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and nonprofit executive. Generation Next, Branson, MO, founder and executive director; also runs a thrift shop and food pantry in Branson, MO, to fund missions projects.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Riley Banks-Snyder was thirteen years old when she went on a two-week trip with her family to Kenya to help feed babies in a neonatal unit and to work in an orphanage. The trip would result in Banks-Snyder’s returning once a year every year to bring to Kenya school supplies and hygiene kits for young girls. In her memoir titled Riley Unlikely: With Simple, Childlike Faith, Amazing Things Can Happen, written with Lisa Velthouse, Banks-Snyder recounts her trips to Kenya coupled with an account of how she responded when she was told she had a rare medical condition that would not allow her to give birth.
“It’s a little crazy for a twelve-year-old American girl to plan a trip to Africa,” Banks-Snyder states in the introduction to Riley Unlikely, adding: “It’s a little wild for small-town American parents to support the plan wholeheartedly. And it’s crazy wild to watch a small plan grow into something you wouldn’t have ever thought to imagine: overseas trips for seven years running, a full-time nonprofit organization, outreach on two continents, and an improbable future.”
Riley Unlikely begins with an account of how Banks-Snyder became interested in going to Kenya, largely due to a physician uncle and an aunt who had decided to go to Tenwek, a mission hospital in a village called Bomet in West Kenya. Intrigued by their decision, the then twelve-year-old Banks-Snyder decided to do some research about Tenwek and Kenya in general. The more she learned, especially about how kids lived in Kenya, the more Banks-Snyder began to think that she wanted to see it all for herself.
The memoir follows Banks-Snyder on her initial and subsequent trips to Kenya and her efforts to figure out how she could best help a country and people that she began to love. After her very first trip to Kenya, Banks-Snyder started seeking donations from various businesses. The businesses, however, wanted to see nonprofit tax-exempt papers. As a result, Banks-Snyder and her family started the nonprofit Generation Next. “When we first started, we were just looking for school supplies and backpacks,” Banks-Snyder noted in an interview with Amy Cummins for the Milk & Honey magazine Web site, adding: “We did school box drives at the end of the school year for kids to donate their unused school supplies, and during our first year, we collected 200 backpacks and all-new school supplies. Since then, we also started doing hygiene kits for young women so they can stay in school.”
Banks-Snyder also addresses the devastating news given to her at the age of sixteen that she would never be able to have children of her own. She details how she struggled with the diagnosis of a rare medical condition even though she was still a teenager and had not given much thought to having children. Nevertheless, as she writes in her memoir, Banks-Snyder “would see a woman with a rounded pregnant belly and instantly think, That will never be me.” Another issue was her boyfriend, Graham Snyder. Banks-Snyder was already thinking of her future together with Graham and began to wonder if her inability to have children would change their relationship. Banks-Snyder reveals that she initially avoided the issue and telling Graham the truth about her condition, noting that outside of her family she did not tell anyone. Eventually, she came to terms with the diagnosis and informed Graham. The two eventually married.
Riley Unlikely “is a heartwarming tale of empathy, selflessness, and perseverance,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. A Books and Beverages Web site contributor remarked that the book “will inspire you to pursue your dreams and make a difference in your own world—and around the world.”
BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Banks-Snyder, Riley, Riley Unlikely: With Simple, Childlike Faith, Amazing Things Can Happen, Zondervan (Grand Rapids, MI), 2016.
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, July 11, 2016, review of Riley Unlikely, p. 60.
ONLINE
Books and Beverages, http://booksandbeverages.org (September 28, 2016), review of Riley Unlikely.
Books, Beautiful Books, http://mazzoubooks.blogspot.com (November 13, 2016), review of Riley Unlikely.
Generation Next Web site, https://generationnextcares.org (April 1, 2017), author profile.
Milk & Honey, http://milknhoneymagazine.com/ (September 23, 2016), Amy Cummins, “Riley Unlikely,” author interview.
Paper Blossoms, http://paperblossoms.blogspot.com/ (December 21, 2016), review of Riley Unlikely.
Project Inspired, http://www.projectinspired.com/ (May 20, 2016), “How One Girl’s Mission Trip Turned into a Movement: Riley’s Story.”
SK Bell, http://skbellblog.blogspot.com (December 3, 2016), review of Riley Unlikely.
LC control no.: n 2016018450
Descriptive conventions:
rda
Personal name heading:
Banks Snyder, Riley
Variant(s): Snyder, Riley Banks
Found in: Riley unlikely, 2016: E-CIP t.p.(Riley Banks Snyder) data
view (Banks Snyder, Riley )
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Riley Banks was 13 years old when she visited Kenya for the first time, and what she experienced there has changed the course of her life and hundreds of children’s lives forever. It was just a two-week trip, one that involved visiting family, feeding babies in a neonatal unit and serving in an orphanage, but her involvement in Kenya didn’t end when she returned. In fact, it had just begun.
While visiting, she noticed the babies first: naked, diaper-less, and fed from a medicine cup instead of a bottle. She then noticed the children, sharing one pencil during their school lessons. She realized the barriers to education the students faced while sharing their supplies, and she decided to help change that one situation.
She founded Generation Next and began collecting school supplies. A year later, she returned to the orphanage in Kenya with 200 backpacks full of supplies. While there on her second trip, Riley noticed another barrier to education: Sanitary supplies. Many girls, once they reached a certain age, did not have money for sanitary napkins. Without the supplies, they missed several weeks of school per year or, sometimes, they didn’t return to school at all. In the worst cases, they would turn to prostitution to make money.
Her involvement in Kenya didn’t end when she returned. In fact, it had just begun.
She realized the barriers to education the students faced, and she decided to help change that one situation.
Generation Next then collected 200 hygiene kits for girls, and during Riley’s third trip to Kenya, Generation Next distributed them to girls in need, then partnered with Nomad Charities to host a medical clinic that served 1,324 people. During the same trip, Generation Next also began work to complete a building that had been left untouched after the initial builder had been robbed and killed. Generation Next continued sending money to complete the construction of the building, and it became a school called Pamoja, meaning “Together.” The school, which serves 50 students, opened in Summer 2013. Generation Next pays each student’s school fees, provides a meal, and also pays the teacher’s salary.
In addition to its work in Kenya, Generation Next also completes projects to serve people in the Ozarks. Most recently, Generation Next provided Christmas gifts to families in need in Taney County, and it is also planning a prom dress drive to provide dresses for local girls.
Generation Next operates on donations and on any profits made at Riley’s Treasures Thrift Store, located at 215 North Veterans Boulevard in Branson, MO. The contents of the 12,000-square-foot building was donated to Generation Next by the Boys and Girls Club of the Ozarks in November of 2013. Read more about Riley’s Treasures here.
Riley Banks-Snyder and her husband Graham Snyder live in Branson Missouri. At the age of 13 Riley took her first mission trip to Kenya. Falling in love with the people and the country, Riley started her own non-profit at the age of 14 called Generation Next. Generation Next provides school supplies and hygiene kits to young kids in Kibwezi, Kenya. Riley has built a school called Pamoja, which translates to "together" in Swahili. With the recent purchase of a 7000 square foot building sitting on 5 acres, Riley plans to turn it into a community center for the people of Kibwezi. Teaching the women to sew, provide a safe house for children, and a sporting complex to be used by area schools. Riley Unlikely will be Riley's first book to be released. Riley and Graham plan to move to Kibwezi when Graham is finished with college. Drop her a line or check out her ministry at www.generationnextcares.org.
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Milk and Honey Magazine interview with 'Riley Unlikely' author on her Kenya mession nonprofit, her faith, her favorite Bible verse, and her future plans and goals in Christ!
RILEY UNLIKELY
Amy Cummins
09/23/16
Creating and running a non-profit is an accomplishment in and of itself, but Riley Banks-Snyder started one when she was just 14 years old. Really. She took her first trip to Kenya when she was 13 to serve at a neonatal unit and a school, and she remembers seeing babies being fed from medicine cups instead of bottles and an entire class sharing a single pencil due to a lack of resources. The experience created a deep desire within her to aid the people she met there. So, after returning to her home in Branson, Missouri, she started Generation Next as a vehicle for her to collect and deliver backpacks of school supplies and girls’ hygiene kits to the Kenyans she had met.
From its simple beginnings, Generation Next has developed and grown far beyond Riley’s initial plans for it. In addition to providing school supplies and hygiene kits, the non-profit also now runs its own school and is working on establishing a community center in Kibwezi, Kenya as well.
Now 20 and married, Riley’s life has changed in many ways since she started Generation Next as a teen, but she continues to work tirelessly for the non-profit, and her life is an amazing testimony of the difference that one person can make in the world. Her new book, Riley Unlikely: With Simple Childlike Faith, Amazing Things Can Happen gives an inspiring look into the faith that has guided and sustained her efforts to serve God through her work and her life.
Here, we chat with Riley to find out more about her accomplishments, her faith, and what she’s learned through her journey.
GET TO KNOW RILEY!
Milk and Honey Magazine interview with 'Riley Unlikely' author on her Kenya mession nonprofit, her faith, her favorite Bible verse, and her future plans and goals in Christ!
YOU STARTED GENERATION NEXT AT THE AGE OF 14. WHAT WAS YOUR INITIAL GOAL FOR IT?
After returning from Kenya, I remember going to different businesses (not being a non-profit at the time) and asking for donations. They all wanted to see our tax-exempt papers, though, so that’s what got us to start Generation Next as a non-profit. When we first started, we were just looking for school supplies and backpacks. We did school box drives at the end of the school year for kids to donate their unused school supplies, and during our first year, we collected 200 backpacks and all-new school supplies. Since then, we also started doing hygiene kits for young women so they can stay in school.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR GN?
Recently, we purchased a community center in Kibwezi and are working on farming that land. We’ve got about five acres and we want to be able to farm that to create a feeding program. We also want to start a sewing program for women there who are widowed or aren't married or need a job. Eventually, we even want to add a sports section to the community center for kids to play basketball and football and volleyball. Basically, we want it to be an outlet for anyone in the community to be able to come to if they need help, and we want it to be a place where people can come and experience the love of Christ through the people working there, too.
TELL US WHAT A DAY IN YOUR LIFE LOOKS LIKE.
We have a thrift store here in Branson, so I’ll work there a few days a week, and all of the proceeds go towards Generation Next. So I spend most of my time sorting the clothes that come in throughout the week, and then just doing different fundraisers and speaking at different churches on the weekends, or at different clubs or groups that invite us to share more about Generation Next. We’re always trying to get the word out more about Generation Next!
Milk and Honey Magazine interview with 'Riley Unlikely' author on her Kenya mession nonprofit, her faith, her favorite Bible verse, and her future plans and goals in Christ!
YOU OPEN UP ABOUT BEING UNABLE TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BOOK. TELL US ABOUT THAT.
I found out I couldn’t have children when I was a junior in high school, at the age of 16, so at the time I didn’t really understand how it would affect my future. I knew it was a big thing, but I don’t think I realized right away what a huge impact it would have on me. I’m 20 now and I’m married and so thinking about it now is harder than it was when I was 16, but even then I remember walking into school and there were already girls who were pregnant and just thinking, “God, why me? What is your purpose in this?”
Thankfully, I had a lot of amazing friends and family who were willing to listen to me and answer the questions that were frustrating me. I remember a conversation with one friend in particular who told me, “I just don’t think God would have put you in Kenya at 13 years old — a place where there are so many kids without moms — without a reason. He put you in this place where you can have more children than you could ever have by yourself.”
Those words stuck with me. I still struggle with it, but finding God’s purpose in this has helped me handle it a lot better.
HOW HAS YOUR TIME IN KENYA IMPACTED YOUR FAITH?
I remember asking my mom about going to Kenya when I was 13 and she was like, “You know, I don’t see why not. We have family over there and it would be a really good opportunity for you to get to go and serve.” It’s funny because a lot of people who knew me at the time were like, “Wow, Riley Banks is going to Kenya. She doesn’t like to talk to anybody, she’s quiet, she’s shy.” It was crazy for people to hear that I was doing that, but God gave me the opportunity, and as crazy as it sounded, I had to take advantage of it and I ended up falling in love with it. When we’re out of our comfort zone and serving the Lord like that, crazy things do happen and there’s so much joy in it. It gave me a totally new understanding of God’s love for me and other people.
Milk and Honey Magazine interview with 'Riley Unlikely' author on her Kenya mession nonprofit, her faith, her favorite Bible verse, and her future plans and goals in Christ!
WHAT ENCOURAGEMENT DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER WOMEN WHO WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
My encouragement would be to be as open as possible to what God has planned for you. His plans may seem crazy, and you may think there’s no way He could use you, but you’d be surprised; He can use us in any way He wants. We just have to have an immense amount of faith. Often we sit around and doubt ourselves and what we can do, but it’s important to understand that He’s not going to give us anything we can’t handle. His love for us is so much bigger than we know. Trust in Him and what He has planned for you.
FAVORITE BIBLE VERSE?
The one that I relied one most when I was diagnosed with MRKH - Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans for you, declares the Lord. Plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” It’s something to live by daily - to know that God’s got a definite plan no matter what the day holds for you.
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Riley Unlikely: With Simple Child-Like Faith, Amazing Things Can Happen
263.28 (July 11, 2016): p60.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
* Riley Unlikely: With Simple Child-Like Faith, Amazing Things Can Happen
Riley Banks-Snyder, with Lisa Velthouse. Zondervan, $19.99 (192p) ISBN 978-0-31034787-3
Banks-Snyder, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Generation Next, tells her story about tenaciously transforming passion into performance. At the age of 12, Banks longed to go to Africa to make a difference. While most teenagers simple muse about their ambitions, Banks put her plans into action. By 14, she had started Generation Next, which helped to fund the construction of a school in Kibwezi, Kenya. Alongside her nonprofit, Banks also runs a thrift shop and food pantry in Branson, Mo., to fund her missions' projects. With the assistance and support of her parents, Banks fulfilled her goal to travel to Africa and, once in Kenya, a wealth of new ministry ideas was born. In an unexpected turn, Banks later found out that she was unable to have any children of her own due to a rare physical condition. The discovery was a severe blow to Banks, but she kept moving forward and focused on improving the lives of Kenyan children. This is a heartwarming tale of empathy, selflessness, and perseverance. (Sept.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Riley Unlikely: With Simple Child-Like Faith, Amazing Things Can Happen." Publishers Weekly, 11 July 2016, p. 60. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA458915381&it=r&asid=0829fcd189993396ec88c6d81d4ecce6. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A458915381
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Book Review: Riley Unlikely by Riley Banks-Snyder
We use Compassion International to sponsor a boy in Uganda and a girl in Rwanda so I am always excited to read books about young people making a difference in Africa.
Riley Unlikely actually takes place in Kenya, so lots of things are of course very different than they are for our kids in Uganda or Rwanda, but I still loved learning more about what it’s like to travel internationally for a cause.
Riley and her family took on all kinds of causes, from school supplies to medical center volunteer work, hygiene kits, starting a school, and laying some groundwork for an orphanage. She took her first trip at age 13 and went back every summer from there. When she found out at 16 she was born with a rare disorder that would leave her unable to have children someday, she turned to her passion for helping the children of Kenya.
At some point during the book she talks about how we are all called to do different things, which I loved. I tend to read books like these and think I need to go somewhere else… but really, I’m not called to do that. Maybe I will be someday, I don’t know! But for now I am not and it was good to have this kind of guilt-like feeling erased when I read that.
If you’re at all interested in reading about some of Riley’s work, definitely check out the book!
Sunday, November 13, 2016
A review of the book Riley Unlikely by Riley Banks-Snyder
Riley Unlikely: How One Young Woman's Heart for Africa Is Changing the World
Riley Unlikely: How One Young Woman's Heart for Africa Is Changing the World
by Riley Banks-Snyder
This is the autobiography of Riley Banks who at the young age of 14, founded a non-profit organization called Generation Next. Generation Next seeks to enrich the lives of young people in Kenya in the hopes that they will be better equipped for their futures. Riley was first gripped with the inspiration to travel to Kenya at age 13. When she saw the conditions over there she quickly was filled with ideas of ways to help the poor yet joyous people living there. Riley's world was changed and she did not hesitate to start doing things to help. This book was a wonderful read. It was easy to understand and interesting yet life-changing as Riley shares what she learned as she compared Kenyan poverty to American luxury. I recommend this book for a variety of readers of all ages!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
Riley Unlikely is the inspiring story of Riley Banks, who first traveled to Kenya at age 13, and has been back every year since bringing backpacks of school supplies and hygiene kits for young girls, developing relationships and friendships, and is currently, as a young millennial, raising money to build a complete learning complex in Kibwezi, Kenya for those who have nothing.
At age sixteen Riley learned that, because of a rare medical condition, she would never be able to have her own children. Devastating news to most young women, especially those who love children and have always dreamed of having their own family. But Riley’s response was: Kenya has given me a thousand children.
Riley’s stories of her trips to Kenya, her struggles to figure out how to best serve and care for these people she has fallen in love with, and her own unexpected health issues are funny, compelling and gripping. Readers will find that God writes surprising stories in the lives of those who follow Him. Hard to put down, Riley Unlikely will inspire you to pursue your dreams and make a difference in your own world—and around the world.
Riley Unlikely by Riley Banks-Snyder | Book Review
September 28, 2016 by Jamie 4 Comments
Isn’t it awesome to see the ways God works? I love reading stories of God drastically shifting lives for His glory. Plus I love Africa and my visit there is still one of my favorite trips. Since this book combined the two, I couldn’t resist!
Riley Unlikely is the inspiring story of Riley Banks, who first traveled to Kenya at age 13, and has been back every year since bringing backpacks of school supplies and hygiene kits for young girls, developing relationships and friendships, and is currently, as a young millennial, raising money to build a complete learning complex in Kibwezi, Kenya for those who have nothing.
At age sixteen Riley learned that, because of a rare medical condition, she would never be able to have her own children. Devastating news to most young women, especially those who love children and have always dreamed of having their own family. But Riley’s response was: Kenya has given me a thousand children.
Riley’s stories of her trips to Kenya, her struggles to figure out how to best serve and care for these people she has fallen in love with, and her own unexpected health issues are funny, compelling and gripping. Readers will find that God writes surprising stories in the lives of those who follow Him. Hard to put down, Riley Unlikely will inspire you to pursue your dreams and make a difference in your own world—and around the world.
riley-unlikely
“The beauty of watching God work is that His ways are so utterly unlike ours that often his moves seem to come out of nowhere.”
What an encouraging read! I love these kinds of stories. I never tire of hearing the ways God works. This was not only the story of a teenager who was deeply moved after a visit to Kenya, but also of God’s refining when hard things happen (both in Africa and in her personal life).
One thing I appreciated from Riley was her willingness to be honest about her initial reaction and thoughts on her first trip to Kenya. There’s definite cultural differences and it’s an adjustment, especially when you’re a young teenager. But I love too, that, through the story we see how God removed those barriers and how her heart grew more and more for those of Kenya.
An inspiring story of a teenager, Africa and God doing amazing things!
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This book was encouraging on many levels and such a reminder that God’s ways are not our ways, but always so much more than we can imagine. Can I get an amen for that?
I think everyone would be encouraged by this, and especially teenagers. More than ever culture tells them that teenage years should look a certain way, but age doesn’t limit the Lord. We don’t have to wait to reach a certain point or be a certain age for the Lord to do something incredible for His glory.
I’ll also be featuring Riley over at She Laughs next month for my Difference Maker Series, so be on the lookout for that!
Who has recently inspired you recently? I’d love to hear!!
(Thank you to Zondervan for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review)
Riley Unlikely- Book Review
I was interested to read the book Riley Unlikely as it's always fascinating to me to read stories of people who choose a different path for their life. This story is easy to read and engaging telling of a young girl, Riley, who follows the call she feels God has for her to go to Africa. It's an easy read and good for a wide age range of readers and is encouraging to do what God has called you to do even if that just means reaching out to your next door neighbor. I give this book 4 stars.
**I was given this book in exchange for my honest review by BookLookBloggers. All opinions are my own.**