Two organizations have formed a partnership to work with disadvantaged youth, helping them to finish high school and prepare for jobs.
Ron Watson, founder and president of the Little Rock-based HAD2 organization, and Sidney Moncrief, founder and president of Dallas-based Moncrief Game Changer Inc., plan to highlight their career-readiness initiative with a tour around Arkansas, beginning at Hot Springs' Arkansas Career Training Institute on Saturday.
The aim is to provide at-risk students with skills to graduate from high school and prepare for the workforce.
Watson and Moncrief will hold career-readiness seminars and educational forums that will bring students together with area educators, businessmen, political leaders and others.
"Ron Watson, who is one of my partners, has the concept of HAD2, and I do college- and career-readiness forums, and I realized that this is very valuable info. We decided to take this beyond central Arkansas and have forums across the state," Moncrief said.
Watson said he wants the high school dropout rate and the youth crime rate to drop in Arkansas.
"The more prepared you are, the more opportunity you have," Watson said in a news release. "I worked for three years at the White House, and the training I received just to be prepared to walk through a door is unbelievable. That training has propelled me, and now I walk into any door I want to."
Moncrief, who is originally from Little Rock, and his wife, Takisha, created Moncrief Game Changer and the Moncrief Institute for College and Career Readiness. Moncrief is a former University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and NBA basketball player.
The Game Changer organization provides leadership training, career readiness and professional development for young people through a series of forums and workshops. Students are taught to smile, to make eye contact and to give a firm handshake.
"We aim to hit every segment, from elementary to high school to college, as it relates to getting those soft skills sharpened," Moncrief said in the news release. "This will give them an advantage, not only when seeking employment but also when working together and interacting with others."
After its initial forum in Hot Springs, the tour will continue for the next three and a half months in Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Fort Smith, Springdale, Jonesboro, Helena-West Helena and Texarkana.
Additional information on HAD2 is available at www.had2.com and on Moncrief Game Changer Inc. at sidneymoncrief.org.
Metro on 01/23/2018