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Youngstown Boys, Girls Club members learn to dream big
YOUNGSTOWN
The Boys & Girls Club of Youngstown’s inaugural end-of-school-year bash to celebrate academic achievements of its members and give them a glimpse of what their futures could be — even in Ohio.
The event, which kicked off the club’s summer program, featured a keynote address about entrepreneurship by Ohio Against The World, a Cincinnati-based group of young entrepreneurs who fully expect to take the world by storm with their brand and prove along the way that creativity exists — even in Ohio.
OATW, founded by Floyd Johnson Jr. of Cincinnati, is a collection of individuals who have merged their creative talents — design, graphic design, photography, writing and business acumen — and are making a splash domestically and internationally marketing their OATW brand.
Their mission Friday was to influence kids who may not see a lot of opportunities to be creative and create options for themselves, said Johnson in an interview.
“We want to let them know that they can take advantage of available tools, such as the Internet, like we did. They don’t have to wait. They can launch an enterprise,” said James Sutton III of Cincinnati.
OATW is a collection of about 10 friends who make decisions collectively, and it seems to be working.
Johnson said they are selling the OATW brand in Japan and Australia and many other countries, and also design and manufacture their own products, such as T-shirts.
“We’re being globally recognized,” said Danny Yant, an OATW member from Dayton.
That is the message they brought to the kids from the South Side of Youngstown: Success can happen anywhere.
“I would like children we work with through the summer to find their creative niche,” said Ruthie King, Boys & Girls Club executive director.
To that end, for example, the club has attracted the Boys & Girls Club’s National Photography Program.
King said the Boys & Girls Club will continue its goal of providing a safe place for after-school and out-of-school time and provide academic assistance and recreation.
But she has higher goals.
“When the kids come in the doors, I want it to be a positive place ... a place of opportunities and programs that stretch their imaginations and to make an impact on the lives of youths who need us the most,” King said.
“I want to see this club reach its full potential, and become one of the premier youth-development organizations in Mahoning County,” she said.
The end-of-school-year bash included a performance by the club’s drum line, a reading by Tracy McQuillan of the Newport Library and many other field-day games, face painting and line dancing.