Saw this article in today's Wilm. Star News. Thought you may be interested in reading the history of this deserving organization. Jimmy Pierce is one of our members.
Craftsmen program helps at-risk youths in Wilmington
Staff Photo BY KEN BLEVINS
Paul Bress (left) looks on as he works with Bill Skelton on Thursday afternoon at Kids Making It. The program run by Jimmy Pierce gives at-risk youth a chance to learn craftmanship and values. The after-school program turns out wooden products.
By Si Cantwell
Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 5:22 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 9:55 p.m.
At the Kids Making It shop on Water Street, students shape wood into products they can sell, earning a few bucks as they learn skills and values to live by.
.art_main_pic { width:250px; float:left; clear:left; }Want to Help?
You can support Kids Making It by donating, volunteering as an instructor or shopping for gifts and housewares in the store. The young craftsmen get all the profits after materials costs. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, call 763-6001 or log on to www.kidsmakingit.org.
Tevin Boone has been coming for three years. The New Hanover High School junior enjoys the work and the company.
“It’s something for me to do after school,” he said.
He started participating after his guardian ad litem mentioned the program. Guardian ad litem volunteers represent the interests of minors who become involved in the court system.
Boone feels being part of the program helps keep the craftsmen from getting into trouble.
“I talk to everyone,” he said. “They can tell if something’s wrong.”
He’s comfortable around the instructors and fellow students.
“I feel like it’s another family for me,” he said.
That’s just what Jimmy Pierce hoped for when he founded Kids Making It.
Pierce, who grew up in Swansboro, worked with a similar program in 1994 while he was practicing law in Baton Rouge, La.
In 1996, his father died and his mother’s health wasn’t good, so he moved back to North Carolina. He gave up the law practice, becoming a teacher and launching Kids Making It.
It started in 1997 as a pilot program at Jervay Place, a public housing development off Dawson Street that was demolished in the late 1990s. Six or seven kids were making doghouses, scooters and skateboards in a community room.
He noticed kids watching through the wire grid-covered windows, saying, “Please let me build.” It struck a chord.
“I grew up with my grandfather building houses,” said Pierce, 56.
He interviewed for a full-time position teaching law at Cape Fear Community College, but said he’d have to be free from 4 to 6 p.m. for the Kids Making It program. He didn’t get the job, which he counts as a blessing today.
The program is housed in the historic Jacobi Warehouse building at 15 Water St.
It’s grant-funded, but funds are down 20 percent this year.
Pierce said it offers a safe haven and chance to learn for inner city young people at risk of becoming juvenile delinquents.
Two social work interns at the University of North Carolina Wilmington fill out intake forms and visit the homes of prospective participants.
KMI has several staffers and 10 to 15 volunteers.
The program operates weekday afternoons and on weekends, with 75 to 100 kids served a year. Youths are referred from the Juvenile Day Treatment Center,
Special classes are held in connection with juvenile court, where the kids work side-by-side with their parents.
In another room, several students are painting woodworks under the supervision of Loraine Scalamoni, an artist with Dreams of Wilmington.
Yvonne Boone, Tevin’s ninth-grade sister, was painting a sewing table. She said the work gives her something to be proud of.
For Scalamoni, working with the young people at Kids Making It offers a chance to talk to them about what’s going on in their lives.
“I’m actually affecting their future,” she said with wonder. “It’s very gratifying.”
Craftsmen program helps at-risk youths in Wilmington
Staff Photo BY KEN BLEVINS
Paul Bress (left) looks on as he works with Bill Skelton on Thursday afternoon at Kids Making It. The program run by Jimmy Pierce gives at-risk youth a chance to learn craftmanship and values. The after-school program turns out wooden products.
By Si Cantwell
Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 5:22 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 9:55 p.m.
At the Kids Making It shop on Water Street, students shape wood into products they can sell, earning a few bucks as they learn skills and values to live by.
.art_main_pic { width:250px; float:left; clear:left; }Want to Help?
You can support Kids Making It by donating, volunteering as an instructor or shopping for gifts and housewares in the store. The young craftsmen get all the profits after materials costs. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, call 763-6001 or log on to www.kidsmakingit.org.
Tevin Boone has been coming for three years. The New Hanover High School junior enjoys the work and the company.
“It’s something for me to do after school,” he said.
He started participating after his guardian ad litem mentioned the program. Guardian ad litem volunteers represent the interests of minors who become involved in the court system.
Boone feels being part of the program helps keep the craftsmen from getting into trouble.
“I talk to everyone,” he said. “They can tell if something’s wrong.”
He’s comfortable around the instructors and fellow students.
“I feel like it’s another family for me,” he said.
That’s just what Jimmy Pierce hoped for when he founded Kids Making It.
Pierce, who grew up in Swansboro, worked with a similar program in 1994 while he was practicing law in Baton Rouge, La.
In 1996, his father died and his mother’s health wasn’t good, so he moved back to North Carolina. He gave up the law practice, becoming a teacher and launching Kids Making It.
It started in 1997 as a pilot program at Jervay Place, a public housing development off Dawson Street that was demolished in the late 1990s. Six or seven kids were making doghouses, scooters and skateboards in a community room.
He noticed kids watching through the wire grid-covered windows, saying, “Please let me build.” It struck a chord.
“I grew up with my grandfather building houses,” said Pierce, 56.
He interviewed for a full-time position teaching law at Cape Fear Community College, but said he’d have to be free from 4 to 6 p.m. for the Kids Making It program. He didn’t get the job, which he counts as a blessing today.
The program is housed in the historic Jacobi Warehouse building at 15 Water St.
It’s grant-funded, but funds are down 20 percent this year.
Pierce said it offers a safe haven and chance to learn for inner city young people at risk of becoming juvenile delinquents.
Two social work interns at the University of North Carolina Wilmington fill out intake forms and visit the homes of prospective participants.
KMI has several staffers and 10 to 15 volunteers.
The program operates weekday afternoons and on weekends, with 75 to 100 kids served a year. Youths are referred from the Juvenile Day Treatment Center,
Special classes are held in connection with juvenile court, where the kids work side-by-side with their parents.
In another room, several students are painting woodworks under the supervision of Loraine Scalamoni, an artist with Dreams of Wilmington.
Yvonne Boone, Tevin’s ninth-grade sister, was painting a sewing table. She said the work gives her something to be proud of.
For Scalamoni, working with the young people at Kids Making It offers a chance to talk to them about what’s going on in their lives.
“I’m actually affecting their future,” she said with wonder. “It’s very gratifying.”
