Mentoring initiative opens in Franklin

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Tuesday to celebrate the opening of Save Our Children Mentoring Center (former Bunche Branch Library) at the corner of Fifth and Willow Street, in Franklin.
St. Mary Councilman J Ina addressed attendees, giving a brief history of the center’s coming to fruition, and thanking the community for their assistance in the process.
According to Ina, the mentoring center owes its existence to years of work from community leaders, both living and passed.
The center will operate to provide a place for local youth to spend productive time aligning their leisure hours with the possibilities of endeavoring toward their futures.
The center’s Fall Program is currently underway. Entitled, “Dream What YOU See,” the program is open to adolescents and young adults, age 14-24, who are residents of St. Mary Parish. The program is slated to continue through May 2018, and its hours of operation are: Monday and Thursday, 3-6 p.m.
Sponsors for the program include Lighthouse Missionary Baptist Church Agape Program, St. John Missionary Baptist Church of St. Joseph and Teche Action Clinic.
The program will provide training in life skills, decision making, financial management and career choices and contains three component: The Speakers Bureau, Youth Leadership St. Mary Program and Experience and Exposure Program.
To register contact: Ms. Belinda Roberson 337-967-1061, Mrs. Jennifer C. Lanceslin 337-346-1006 and/or Dr. Gail Hamilton (337) 578-7885.