Charles is an articulate, driven 13-year old from the Chattanooga area, who has chosen to spend his summer at Hope for the Inner City’s Summer Work Adventure Program.

Five days a week his uncle drives him, his younger brother and his cousin across town to Hope for the Inner City so that all three can participate in this biblically based leadership camp for middle school teens.

More Than Meets the Eye

In a lot of ways, Charles is like any average seventh-grader; he enjoys baseball and soccer, is better at language arts than math and science, and likes to read books, especially biographies.

Yet in other ways, he has a mature perspective on issues that, one might say, sets him apart from his fellow campers. For instance, while some of his peers have written off their schoolwork dreaming about the NFL or NBA, Charles has his sights set on college and beyond. He’d like to be a surgeon or a judge, and is fully prepared do what it takes. Nor is he preoccupied with boyfriend/girlfriend relationships.

“I have too many other things that I need to focus on right now,” he said. “It’s just too much drama.”

Eyes on the Prize

Charles is so dedicated to his personal goals that he is even planning on using the $200 stipend that he will earn over the course of Summer Work Adventure Program to buy school supplies for the coming year. By all appearances, Charles is a kid who knows what he wants and what he needs to do to get there.

For these reasons, Hope for the Inner City’s Summer Work Adventure Program is exactly what young teens like Charles needs: something to focus on that will prepare them well for the future, and strong biblical guidance to help him take hold of "that which is truly life" (1 Timothy 6:19). Charles has a bright future ahead of him.