A group of teenagers became business owners in Avondale on Monday.
Through a program that is tentatively being called "Mowers and Mentors," a group of kids are being given the supplies to start their own lawn mowing company.
Neighborhoods United, led by City Council candidate Brian Garry, and Pastor Peterson Mingo from Christ Temple Full Gospel Baptist say they are empowering youth to make money of their own.
The group ranges from age 12 to 16 years old and many of them will be partnering with each other to cut lawns across Greater Cincinnati.
All of the proceeds earned from the lawn cutting will go directly to the children, according to Garry.
This program is a recreation of one that Christ Temple started in 1998.
"These young people are going to get money somehow and we wanted to show them the right way to do it," said Mingo.
The program was first started with used lawn mowers and a group of around 15 boys.
"I had never mowed a lawn before," said James Simms, 35, who was a part of the program in 2005 and now works for the church. "It was something I could put on my resume, something to help me get a job."
In 2015, the lawn mowers were stolen from a shed at the church and the program was discontinued. Now, donors and Neighborhoods United have stepped up to provide new mowers and rejuvenate the program.
“It is programs like this that reduce gun violence. Nothing beats a bullet like a job," Garry said. More than 100 people donated to raise more than $5,800 that was needed to purchase the equipment.
Many of the youngsters participating this time around have never had a job before. The program will lend them the lawn mower and provide a start-up supply of gas and oil. The rest is on the kids, Mingo said.
Each participant will be trained how to handle and take of the lawn mower and how to save and set up bank accounts if they'd like.
During the announcement Monday, the youngsters played and joked around before they began to unbox and set up the brand new lawn mowers. Many of them have never cut grass before and will need to be shown how to do it.
All kids that have signed up for the "Mowers and Mentors" program will be trained tomorrow on mowing safety and will take the lawn mowers home on Wednesday.
Garry is hoping to continue to raise money for the program and to purchase a van to transport the kids, weed whackers and to pay the children for mowing the lawns of senior citizens in the community. All the senior citizens can have their lawns mowed for free.
Anyone interested in being involved in the program can reach out to Neighborhoods United at [email protected] or can call Christ Temple Full Gospel Baptist at 513-861-9563.
Contact Briana Rice at 513-568-3496 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @BriRiceWrites.
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