Teen Forum 2011 Teaches Teens Important Life Skills

The Gwinnett County Alumnae Chapter (GCAC) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. hosted Teen Forum 2011 on Saturday, March 12, at  in Lawrenceville.

The Forum was a free event open to all youth aged 12-18 in the metro Atlanta area.

“This is our second year of being open to the public, and we had a great turnout,“ said Teen Forum Event Coordinator Kimberly Richey.

More than 100 area teens attended the six-hour event that included seven special courses on mental and physical health, educational and economic development, political awareness and international awareness. The event also included a spoken word contest and a Taboo Teen Talk panel to raise awareness and have an open dialogue about issues that affect teens, such as peer pressure, sexually transmitted diseases, domestic violence and more.

Teens could be entered into a raffle held during the event by donating canned goods, and the goods were taken to the Norcross Cooperative Ministry after the Forum.

Volunteers from the sorority's alumnae chapter and area businesses spoke to the teens in classroom settings about etiquette, law, personal safety and finance. Anthony Miller-Sledge, a sixth grader and Forum attendee, said he enjoyed learning about building and protecting his finances.

“I didn’t know how your credit affects you. We learned all about how to protect your credit score and avoid bad credit,” he said. 

Jayna Alford, a 17-year-old graduate of The Georgia Youth ChalleNGe Academy near Augusta, said she came to Lawrenceville to attend the Teen Forum in order to make connections with some of the leaders of the courses and learn the important lessons they were teaching.

According the Educational Development Committee that sponsored the event, The Teen Forum’s mission is to enrich and enhance the education of area teenagers. “It’s really exciting to have 113 teenagers commit to six hours of learning on a Saturday,” said Tiffany Hutchens, one of the event volunteers.