The second Sumter County Youth Summit was held at Calvary Episcopal Church on October 10. Country musician Flem Smith provided live music at the beginning of the program. Carl Reid, vice president of Heart of Sumter which sponsors the event, talked about the importance of the Summit. “We’re doing this again, because there’s been an uptake in youth participating in violence. Just a few days ago, down Brandon, two fifteen-year-olds came out with automatic rifles and started shooting. Fortunately, no one was hurt.”

Reid expressed the need for youth activities. “There’s nothing here in the community for our youth. There are some organizations that are trying to implement programs such as arts and career development, however, there’s nothing for them to do for fun.”

Reid stated the result. “We know statistically that’s one of the reasons why gangs spring up and why individuals, particularly youth, start participating in violent and criminal activity.”

President of the Heart of Sumter, Bethany Greeley, also gave a welcome. She introduced several attendees, and gave a list of questions to spark discussions about what attendees did during their childhood for fun and whether similar opportunities are available in Americus today.

Several representatives from local organizations spoke, including Jess Sinclair from Girl You Are Enough. She told how the Rotary donated 300 clean care kits for girls. The donations come ahead of a girl’s camp the organization will be hosting, which she detailed. “The girls camp is a spring break camp, and that’s for a week. It’s going to be held out at Koinonia Farm.” Sinclair told how the organization was currently looking for letters of support in order to obtain grant funding for lodging, at a cost of $3,400, for the camp.

Afterward Sinclair gave an interview, giving her reactions to the Summit. “It was very informative, an awesome opportunity to hear what other organizations are doing. And it was also very inspiring to know that there’s so much hope within the community, so many innovative ideas and ways that we can partner together. I think also that this is just one of many events that need to continue.”

She also gave more details about Girl You Are Enough. “Last year we did our first Girl You Are Enough conference. We held it at Georgia Southwestern State University, and the theme was reimagining the girl in the mirror.” She told how it was a program under Jess by Faith, a non-profit ministry focused on helping girls see the best in themselves. She told how the group teaches young girls self-care, leadership, and public speaking skills.

Sarah Carson was an attendee at the Summit. She emphasized the importance of teaching children. “Many parents want to make all the choices for their children. We, as parents, must teach a child how to make decisions.”

Sid Walker, urban planner for the City of Americus, gave his reactions to the event. “The event was phenomenal. A lot of great organizations came out and brought a lot of insight about the missions that they have independently.”

Walker gave highlights. “We spoke about autism. We spoke about teen parenting. We spoke about violence prevention. We spoke about youth advancement and things like that that we can offer to the community, so I feel like this event was very insightful.”

Alexus Burton-Willis talked about Your Autism Mom Helper, which is currently still in the works. “I give out information, resources.” She talked about creating an 80-page directory filled with information for parents caring for autistic, ADHD, and ADD children. “If you go in, select your state, it’ll let you press links. You’ll be able to find therapists for them, childcare, waivers, grants, insurance, the whole nine yards.” She told how she was still looking for supporters to help form the non-profit and get it running.