Starkville organization hosts life skills training day for youth
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Young people in Starkville are learning valuable skills they’ll need when they get older.
The Safe Place Foundation Inc. hosted its Life Skills Training Day.
Young people from ages 10-19 had a chance to learn some practical skills that will help them in the future.
The Safe Place Foundation Inc. brought its 2nd Life Skills Training Day to Peter’s Rock Family Life Center.
They got hands-on training in things like hanging sheet rock, landscaping, automotive maintenance, and professional painting.
“Working with all these children, I am seeing that they don’t have the opportunities because they haven’t been exposed to opportunities, so if we give them the exposure and those skills in their hands, those skills can last a lifetime,” Saperior Patton said. “But if they go into the workforce and it makes them competitive, and if they want to take the skills and become a entrepreneur and open their business, they can do it.”
Safe Place Foundation Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing food, shelter, and life skills for youth and those who need them in the community.
President and Founder Saperior Patton said it is heartwarming to see the involvement of the volunteers and the children.
“It makes me feel so good just to see the kids coming out,” Patton said. “This is the first day they are out for spring break. They could be anywhere, in the bed, on vacation, but they chose to be here learning these skills, and it feels good just to be able to give back and give something we didn’t have growing up.”
There was also free food and completion certificates for those who participated.
Youth attendees said they are using the event as a way to explore options of what they want to do as adults.
“A lot of kids don’t know what they want to do, and everyone depends on football like me,” Jace Parson said. “I depend on football, and you don’t know if you can hurt yourself, so if I hurt myself, I need something to fall back on that I can go to college for, so that is why I am really here too.”
The Safe Place Foundation Inc. plans to host the Life Skills Training Day every 2-3 months for the youth.
