Boys and Girls Club of the Golden Triangle empowers local kids
The Boys and Girls Club of the Golden Triangle held its third annual Passport to Manhood Summit to empower local children.
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Becoming a successful, productive member of society starts at a young age.
One has to be given the right tools and guidance to grow into the person they are meant to be.
That’s why organizations like the Boys and Girls Club of the Golden Triangle are essential to the development of the local youth.
Ron Thornton, the president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of the Golden Triangle, said he wants the club kids to know that they can do anything they set their minds to.
“I hope that they gain a sense of self-identity and independence,” Thornton said. “And that they understand that they can do and be anything that they would like to do in this world.”
Vince Davis, the board president of the Boys and Girls Club of the Golden Triangle, said what he hoped the event would teach the club kids.
“I hope that they can take away these life skills that we try to teach them to make them a better person,” Davis said.
Terrell Sumpter, a youth mentor and speaker at the event shared that his personal experience drives him to educate young people.
“As I got older I learned the significance and the importance of what it is to inspire before we expire,” Sumpter said. “So it’s not just about really, coming together, but doing what we have with the tools, the tips, the information, the education to help send our young people the right way.”
Thornton described how it makes him feel to see the club kids grow into independent adults.
“When I see them into their future selves,” Thornton said. “When they have grown up and they are independent, it makes me feel good because now I see the work that we do not do in vain.”
Davis described how it makes him feel to see the club kids progress.
“It makes us feel good because we see the progress that they made,” Davis said. “And then they come back, most of them come back, and say ‘Hey, I appreciate the things that you have done in the past for me, and it really helps me as I move forward in life,.'”
Thornton gave some advice for kids who are struggling.
“Seek your nearest Boys and Girls Club,” Thornton said. “We have professional guidance there and counselors that can help you with anything that you’re going through. We have activities that can get your mind off of things that they may not necessarily need to be.”
The Boys and Girls Clubs says they serve 3.3 million young people in over 5,000 clubs around the country.
