CALHOUN COUNTY, S.C. — Creating community among young people in Calhoun County is the goal of the Calhoun County Library's Teen Night.
Twice a month, teens ages 12 through 17 meet up.
Aside from the fellowship for the kids, they also learn important life skills like cooking, laundry, and even how to care for a car.
"They need to learn about this stuff at an early age so they're prepared, said the programs librarian Beth Rast.
“We want them to go off into the world, or to college, or the workforce prepared to be contributing citizens of whatever community they end up in."
In a county where there's not many recreation options outside of sports, the program coordinators say it's nice for them to have a safe space where they can be themselves.
“To have them here, the parents can drop them off and then come and pick them up and know that they’ll be here, that we’ll be with them, and having fun, and they’ll be learning something," said Rast.
Next, they plan to teach the teens about conflict resolution to help them effectively communicate with others.
Lessons on internet safety will help make them more aware of potential consequences to what the post online.
"When they put something out on social media, it's out there forever, it doesn't go away, said Rast, "and when they think about things in the future like college applications or scholarship applications, they need to consider what they put on social media.
Coordinators are also exploring the option of teaching them organization and budgeting skills.
Teen Night takes place the first and third Tuesday of each month at the Calhoun County Library.
