United Future Leaders students worked with GRUB to develop life skills and prepare for success in a variety of career fields
The GRUB (Growing Recruits for Urban Business) program at the South Plains Food Bank is designed to educate adolescents aged 14 to 18. The 5-acre Carolyn Lanier Youth Farm is the primary work site for the GRUB program, where life and job skills use the farm and community gardens as instruments in their learning. Their tasks include garden planning, soil preparation, maintaining the irrigation system, planting seeds and young plants, nurturing, harvesting, and marketing the produce.
"During the summer, youth interview for limited employment positions. They work half days beginning at 7:30 am and participate in organized workshops from community partners (customer service skills, resume building, etc.)," said Cici Nunez, Assistant Director of United Future Leaders. "This program has existed for over two decades, serving thousands of at-risk adolescents and giving them hope for their future."
The intense summer program provides critical life lessons and an income for the youth and their families. The overall goal is to develop the whole individual and prepare them for success in school and future careers. Nunez said her team hopes to strengthen their resiliency through leadership development in the face of adversity.
"Historically, many of the adolescents involved in the summer employment program have been labeled troublemakers in their school, some have engaged in juvenile delinquency, or they lack emotional regulation skills and act out in big ways," Nunez said. "A majority experience extreme adversity in their family lives, and the turbulence of adolescence are a perfect storm for poor decision-making. However, those participating in the program feel supported in a positive environment and develop a sense of self-efficacy."
When at-risk adolescents can build positive relationships, find a supportive community, and believe they can shape their futures, unseen yet intentional cultivation of each adolescent can change the trajectory of their lives for the better. United Future Leaders equips adolescents with leadership skills such as effective communication, problem-solving, ethical decision-making, and goal-setting. Sharpening these skills can help them navigate adolescence today, cope with adversities, and prepare them to solve the world's problems tomorrow.
"Our partnership with the summer GRUB program has allowed us to support the program's goals," Nunez said. "Participants learn skills that help them work better as a team on the farm and the same skills allow them to cope with their own personal struggles. It's a privilege to work with an outstanding community youth program that recognizes the leadership potential inside the individual and not limit them because of stereotypes."