Most kids don’t start using drugs or stop going to school because it seems like a great idea. They do it because they see nothing on the other side that outweighs the short-term good feeling. Most of the time, the kids involved in these dangerous activities don’t see a bright future ahead for themselves.
But on the other side, when young people have a strong sense of who they are, a vision for what their life can become, and the skills and community support to get there, guess what? They say no to drugs. They go to school. They walk away from that fight. There’s a force stronger than the short-term good feeling pulling them toward better choices.
There’s a fancy term for this approach: Positive Youth Development. It means we help kids find opportunities to discover who they are and what they love, and it can look like many of the activities that we know are good for kids, that were important to many of us growing up: Sports, drama, music, educational pursuits, and so on.
Positive Youth Development is the heart behind many excellent afterschool programs in our city. At the Biz Ba$ics Entrepreneurship Program, Springfield middle school students who have an “entrepreneurial spark” inside them get an opportunity to develop it and let it shine. Students not only learn basic business skills, they also start and run their own small business, make their own product, and earn a profit they get to keep.
If you want to see things change in our community but don’t know how, here’s one really easy avenue: Come to an upcoming Biz Ba$ics Marketplace and buy a product from a Springfield kid. With the few dollars you spend, you’ll be helping to spark dreams and shape a young person’s view of their future.
Faith Bosland is the Executive Director of Springfield Christian Youth Ministries. Biz Ba$ics is a program developed by SCYM in partnership with Southgate Baptist Church, Junior Achievement, and other area churches and schools. For more information, visit www.crushtheodds.org.
HOW TO GO
Upcoming Biz Ba$ics Marketplace events
Sunday, March 19, 12:30 to 2 p.m. at Southgate Baptist Church
Thursday, April 13, 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. at Perrin Woods Elementary School
Sunday, April 23, Noon to 1 p.m. at Maiden Lane Church of God
Sunday, April 30, Noon to 1 p.m. at High Street Church of the Nazarene
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