GraceWorks helps kids learn skills while having summer fun

Grace Episcopal Church in Woodlawn is hosting GraceWorks, its summer program for inner-city children ages 10-14, for the sixth year.

The program, in which kids learn job and life skills, make art and enjoy some clean, safe summer fun, is being held at the church Monday through Friday until July 20.

More than 20 campers were expected, according to Rev. Robyn E. Arnold.

GraceWorks provides what Arnold calls “a safe place for kids” from poor, often violent, neighborhoods during the long summer break.

The youth learn basic carpentry, gardening and landscaping skills through community projects, according to Arnold.

These experiences can help put kids on a path to further job training or even college, according to Kay Williams, the program director.

“They look back over what they've accomplished, and they realize they can do so much more than they ever dreamed,” she said.

GraceWorks is “very educational,” said camper Jazmine Washington of Clay, Ala., who was attending with her sister, Jayla. “We learn a lot of stuff.”

“I like being outside, doing yard work,” said Jayla Washington. “I like learning new stuff, because I can take this and try to build my own business with it.”

GraceWorks participants are encouraged to make art and keep journals, according to Arnold. “A lot of them are just starved for creativity,” she said.

The campers also have the chance to build their interpersonal skills.

“They form a very tight community,” Arnold said. “They sit at table twice a day. They pray together. They talk together.”

This interaction is aided by the fact that the participants do not have access to their cell phones while at GraceWorks, according to Arnold.

“That’s a benefit right there, because they are connecting person to person, face to face, without that distraction,” she said.

Campers also get to give back to the community by doing yard work for seniors in the area or bagging groceries for the Grace Church Food Pantry

They are able to “learn what it means to offer your time as a gift to somebody else,” Arnold said.

Jazmine Washington said she and her sister looked forward to the neighborhood service projects.

“Helping other people that can’t do it themselves (is) fun, and it makes me feel good,” she said.

Quintavious Skeen, a West End resident and rising senior at Wenonah High School, has attended GraceWorks for six years and served as a mentor in the program for two years.

He recently began attending trade school at the Alabama Workforce Training Center and enjoys the carpentry projects at GraceWorks.

“Miss Kay has taught me a lot,” he said, referring to Williams.

Graceworks is “pretty fun,” said Skeen, who enjoys the community service aspects of the program.

“My life revolves around more volunteer work,” Skeen said. “I think it's a good way to show people that I am dedicated to some things and I really care.”

Williams said her efforts with GraceWorks are very gratifying. “I get to see lives change,” she said. The children’s self-esteem rises, their validation.”

The GraceWorks kids also get to have fun, with recreational trips each Friday to such places as Point Mallard, Oak Mountain State Park and the Birmingham Museum of Art, according to Arnold.

For information, call 595-4636 or go to gracechurchwoodlawn.org.