‘We want better for them’: Purpose Center instills direction in local kids
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - It’s been almost one week since the shooting at T.W. Josey High School that sent one student to the hospital.
Just a few feet away from Josey High is the Purpose Center, a nonprofit that helps mentor kids in the community to get them in the right direction in life.
The Purpose Center continued on with their “Living in Purpose” after school programming, where they teach kids everything from reading to martial arts. The program ties in with their priority of giving kids a purpose in life.
“I teach them how to respond versus react,” Master Laron D. Younger with Lakai Taekwondo said. “So how do you respond to something like that?”
Sometimes the response is kicking a piece of wood or standing back with a smile.
“Kids might be struggling and they don’t know who to talk to,” Monique Brinson, who brings her three kids to the Purpose Center, said. “But they know they can come here and they’ll have somebody to talk to. When they come here, they’re happy. They look forward to coming to the purpose center.”
Her kids of three out of the nearly 30 coming to the Purpose Center after school.
“In today’s society, having places where kids can go and have an influence, besides their parents, it’s important,” Michael Downes, a board member for the Purpose Center, said.
“We want better for them and that’s what I want from my kids,” Brinson said. “I want them to have more than what I had better than what I had.”
The Purpose Center is a first step.
“They need to learn how to go through the suffering, not just avoid it,” Younger said. “And in martial arts, they learn that they have to go through the suffering in order to gain perseverance. And once they gain perseverance, they build strong character. When they have strong character, now they have hope.”
For more information of how to sign up for “Living in Purpose” after school program, visit the Purpose Center’s website here.
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