THOMASVILLE- The Marguerite Neel Williams Boys and Girls Club of Thomasville helps shape boys into young men, as evidenced by its recent week devoted to the Passport to Manhood Program.
Twenty-eight boys, ages 13-17, participated in the June program and learned various life skills that many had not experienced prior.
“It’s an all-boys class, ages 13 to 17. It’s one of our targeted efforts to engage our boys in open discussions where every day was a different topic,” said Saundra Austin, Thomasville Teen Center Unit Director. “We had several different activities set up for them. They went fishing. We had a handyman come and show them how to put together an electrical fan. They had a boys breakfast where we had a chef from Thomasville come in. He works at Walt Disney World, but he came back home to Thomasville to volunteer for our boys that week.
“We had an auto mechanic to come in. We had a barber come in and show them the advantages of going to a community college to pick up a trade as opposed to going to a two-year or four-year college. He let them know that college was not for him. We did a community service project with Hands on Thomas County.”
That Friday culminated with a grilling class with Mark Futch. All of the boys that participated in the program that week received a BBQ grill and a bag of charcoal; items that were donated by people in the community.
“It’s a year-round program that we run here in the Boys and Girls Club. It’s a leadership class that reinforces character and helps develop relationships. You know how teenagers get into their cliques and won’t go over and associate with another person,” Austin said. “You can tell there’s some maturity once they go through those classes.”
Other skills that are highlighted during the program include folding clothes, how to iron and how to sweep floors.