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Chattanooga teens learn money management while working during summer program

By Yolanda Putman July 31, 2016 4 min read

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Teens learn to earn in summer program

Malik Henry prays at a celebration luncheon at Front Porch Alliance on Friday, July 29, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Henry was among 5 students who were paid $10 an hour over the summer to learn money management and lawn work.

Oliver Richmond holds up letters written by students like Malik Henry, right, at a celebration luncheon at Front Porch Alliance on Friday, July 29, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Henry was among 5 students who were paid $10 an hour over the summer to learn money management and lawn work.

Malik Henry looks up as his name is called by Marcellus Barnes, left, to receive a certificate signed by Oliver Richmond, right, at a celebration luncheon at Front Porch Alliance on Friday, July 29, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Henry was among among 5 students who were paid $10 an hour over the summer to learn money management and lawn work.

Austin Lewis, Javontae Harris, Devonte Wigfall, and Malik Henry, from left, receive certificates at a celebration luncheon at Front Porch Alliance on Friday, July 29, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. They were among 5 students who were paid $10 an hour over the summer to learn money management and lawn work.

Oliver Richmond, center, points to Javontae Harris, right, as he talks with Harris, Devonte Wigfall, left, and Austin Lewis at a celebration luncheon for the men at Front Porch Alliance on Friday, July 29, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. They were among 5 students who were paid $10 an hour over the summer to learn money management and lawn work.

The sweet, spicy scent of barbecued ribs filled Front Porch Alliance on Friday as Oliver Richmond and Grace Pointe Church celebrated five black youths who learned a trade and took financial management classes this summer.

City Councilman Yusuf Hakeem stood among several mentors, pastors and elected officials who encouraged the young men that they could succeed despite challenges that come with being a black male.

“People will tell you that you can’t do it,” said Hakeem. “But the only limitations you have are those that you impose upon yourself. You can be anything of good, anything of God that you want to be if you are willing to work for it.”

The program began when former Merrill Lynch adviser Richmond stepped into the Avondale Youth and Family Development Center and asked if anybody wanted a job. Every student in the center raised his hand, and from them Richmond selected the first five volunteers.

The program included Austin Lewis, 17; Javontae Harris, 15; Malik Henry, 15; Matthew Braden, 13, and Devonte Wigfall, 12.