Tools for a brighter future: Build A Man camp in Philadelphia teaches carpentry, financial literacy, more
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A construction skill-building program for young men run by a Philadelphia nonprofit is preparing to welcome campers for a second year. "Build A Man" is an eight-week program for young men ages 12-17, run by Trust Factor Organization, a nonprofit that focuses on educating and inspiring young people to be better members of their community.
The program aims to help young men build trade skills such as carpentry, landscaping, and even financial literacy.
"It gives them that amazement of being able to do these things and knowing that they did it on their own, but also saying, these are things that I can hold, take with me and make money the same day that I start and finish a job," said Zachery Frazier, executive director of Trust Factor Organization.
Campers will have a chance to work on projects, visit real-life job sites and tour home improvement stores with professionals.
Rahmeen Fleet, a 16-year-old rising high school senior, said he's excited to attend the camp starting next week.
"I do want to be a landlord, so I am probably going to need to learn how to use some of these tools," Fleet said.
This camp helps keep kids off the streets and teaches the value of working, Frazier said. For him, it's personal.
He said he grew up with a mother who struggled with drug addiction and mental health issues, which led him to end up incarcerated. Eventually, he became a successful carpenter and Fleet's mentor.
"I felt like at some point I was destroying my own community," Frazier said. "Now I'm uplifting it."
Taj Murdock shares that goal. As the CEO of the Empowerment Achievement Movement and Men of Courage, Murdock lends the space for Frazier's group to host the camp at his nonprofit's location at 4821 Germantown Avenue.
"In the front of our property, we have a counseling center so that our youth have a safe place to come into and talk about the feelings that they're dealing [with]," Murdock said.
The cost of the program is covered by scholarships. During the camp, teens also receive a toolbelt full of tools and a hard hat as well as a daily lunch.
Frazier said, above all, that he wants campers to not only walk away with transferable skills, but long-lasting relationships.
"We want to build them from the inside out," he said. "It's not just about the tools you see here. It's more about the mentoring."
The camp runs for eight weeks, every Monday and Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. starting July 15.
Moira Vaughan contributed to this article.