LIFE SKILLS 4 TEENS - November

We don't know what we don't know.....

I think all adults can relate to this statement. Especially those of us brave enough to reflect on being "eighteen" and either "leaving the nest" for college due to family issues or the pride of the adult label catapulting us into "the real world" hard and fast. Here we learned how much we just did not know.

The motivation behind Life Skills for Teens was to help the teens in our local communities gain the knowledge and skills they will need once they are out in the world on their own. As an ICU nurse and business owner myself alongside my partner Amanda Bell a leading Realtor in DFW and the CEO of multiple businesses we have always been very passionate about paying it forward and giving back. Through 13 years of friendship we have shared in the struggles of life and poverty knowing one day we would create something extraordinary to give back to our community. Our passion has always been to provide support in some form or fashion to our youth and we are proud to present our world with Life Skills for Teens! We know the youth are the key to the future and feel it's important to provide them the power to grow in wisdom and know how! Our goal is to bring these skills to any and all teens in the community and eventually the nation to impact their minds with knowledge and growth.

The best part with the tribe we have put together we are able to deliver this information in a FUN way where the teens are able and willing to ENGAGE with the curriculum in a meaningful way.

After doing our first event we had the students GRADE their teacher and course in real time! The feedback from the kids' mouths themselves sharing their gratitude that we slowed down and took the time to meet them at their level and present the things they did not know they did not know....but could see WHY they WILL need to know in a day coming soon was powerful and humbling.

We watched them take proactive steps toward their future and develop accountability for their well being as adults when it comes to their safety health opportunities finances and relationships.

Below are the topics our wonderful volunteers and community leaders in their own right step up to teach:

Etiquette: We feel a person's attitude approach and manners can make or break their opportunities. Tony our Etiquette coach provides the teens the knowledge of the Golden rule! He teaches the importance of good eye contact and shaking one's hand. First impressions are an important part of gaining quality relationships start one's career and create an overall confident persona. Tony even offers to teach them how to tie a tie and dress professionally.

HR: Lacy has worked in the professional realm of payroll and business for 19 years. She brings an abundance of knowledge in payroll and Human Resources. It's very important to understand one's pay breakdown as well as W2 and filing taxes. She touches on the importance of a resume and job interviews as well.

Home/kitchen safety: There is a lot to unpack with home and kitchen safety for our teens. From not putting aluminum foil or metals in the microwave to knowing what your fuse box is and how to unclog a toilet. All things we wish we knew when we ventured out of our parents house. As a Senior performance strategist Kristen coaches this class with humor and basic knowledge to safely take care of one's home.

Credit : We are excited to partner with Kenneth credit specialist to provide a course on all things credit. What is credit? How can you create good credit and prevent bad credit? Things a lot of people don't even know until their credit is already bad. This was a favorite among some of the adults present as well!

Banking/Money management: Tara owner and CEO of a successful business for the last 6 years coaches our teens on banking and money management. What do I do with my money?! She does a great job breaking down finances savings and spending in the real world. Teens don't realize the need to budget that toilet paper each month. Educating them on overdraft fees and credit cards as well this course is extraordinarily educational.

Medicine : This class helps teach our teens basic first aid and some important habits to create a healthy lifestyle. The importance of drinking water and not energy drinks what a basic first aid kit looks like and even CPR this class provides skills that could save theirs or someone else's life!

Police officers : Our local heroes proudly coach our teens about the law and show how it's not as scary as one thinks. With encouragement and discipline they provide our teens a breakdown of how to address officers as well as what to do if you are pulled over and/or receive a citation!

Peer pressure and sex: This can be an unnerving subject for anyone especially hormonal teens. We were truly blessed to have business owner and CEO Mercedes step up as her eloquence and calm demeanor allowed the teens a truly safe space to learn and ask questions. This is a topic that teens simply don't get information on even from parents or trusted adults as it's a very sensitive subject. Mercedes does an outstanding job coaching the teens about making safe confident choices and provides education in regards to options available.

Vehicle Maintenance: Taking care of your vehicle can be overwhelming and foreign. Cody an RME-I Fire systems and life safety inspector has worked with vehicles since the age of 16 even rebuilding off-road toys and building his own hot rod. He feels that it's very important for everyone to at least know the basics to keep your vehicle in tip top shape. Fellow car guys Phillip Robby and Chris all owners and CEOs assisted the teens in how to change a tire and jump start your battery! They provided basic vehicle knowledge that will hopefully get you off the side of the road and safely home every trip.

In addition to these courses we provide an area with additional knowledgeable coaches helping our teens create their resumes on site and help filling out the FAFSA form for aid in college. We simply wanted to provide each teen the opportunity to complete these in person with help if they so desire.

Life Skills had an additional 15 coaches for the event to help with any and all needs throughout the day! From set up to questions and guidance our coaches really created a safe educational space for each teen involved.

Our first event was introduced to the community via social media and word of mouth. We utilized event brite for the teens to sign up! We were excited to see roughly 100 teens sign up and almost 40 teens participated in our first event. We immediately received phone calls for additional support and volunteers eager to help how they are able. We look forward to bringing this event to communities throughout the nation and maybe the world. We believe the number of participants will only grow with each event every quarter. We are also excited about bringing one annual event to young adults where each class will take it up a level to provide young adults with important skills and knowledge beneficial to them! We appreciate you for feeling called to read this and consider an involvement in this project that offers massive impact both today and with the ripple effect of the future.

The kids asked questions such as : " Where does the money come from when I use apple pay?" to "What do I do if a boy is approaching me physically and I feel uncomfortable?"

With your help we will continue to answer these FAIR questions to young people everywhere.

Fat face full food trucks eagerly assisted Life Skills for Teens in bringing food to the event.

We look forward to seeing your Teens SOON!