United Methodist Neighborhood Centers of Memphis, Inc. has several summer programs for youth, including assisting youth in finding summer employment, sending inner-city kids to summer camp and helping refugee youth with necessary life skills to break the cycle of poverty.

The Refugee Economic Independence Program (REIP) assists youth in locating summer employment. In 2009, four youths involved in this program have already submitted applications for the Mayor's Summer Youth Program.

For elementary and middle school children, ages 8 to 14, UMNC offers the Annual Lakeshore Summer Camp. This program is designed to send 30 inner-city children to a rural summer camp for one week. While there, the children experience life from a new perspective. In addition, they participate in team-building exercises while having fun and just being kids. Applications are processed through REIP, the Leggett and Smith Centers and the Miriam Child Development Center.

UMNC is also partnering with the Binghampton Development Corporation to present a life skills training program for African refugee youth who live in the Binghampton area. The Building A Bridge for Success (BABS) Project is a four-week program that begins this summer. The program consists of four major components that will help build the capacity of African refugee children ages 10 to 17. Participants will gain knowledge that will allow them to help their parents manage the household, a unique responsibility for African youth given that the parents rarely speak or even read English. The BABS project will educate the children so they can teach their parents, bridging the language gap and breaking the cycle of poverty.

For more information on any of these programs, visit www.umnc.org or call 901.323.4993.