This project will give Boys & Girls Club members at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry (Beaufort County, South Carolina) critical job skills by providing startup funds for youth to build and run Club stores. The profit from the stores will be used to send youth to the annual Keystone Leadership Conference for teens, through which Club youth will gain even more valuable skills and experiences.
In Beaufort County, over 64% of our students are living in poverty. The parent illiteracy rate is 75%. As an organization, we must address these issues head on by providing academic support and teaching life and job skills. In our area, hospitality and retail are the two biggest job fields. We know that in order to prepare our members to enter the work force, we need to teach them money counting, cash register use and other basic job skills.
This program will give our Club members the opportunity to run their own student stores. In order to work in the stores, members would be required to do a job interview, to dress appropriate for the job, learn to clock in and out, learn to take inventory of supplies and learn to work a cash register, giving youth valuable customer service and leadership skills.
This project will help us better mentor the youth who need us most, providing valuable experiences to youth that will help them develop academically and have a plan for their future.
