NORTH NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — You know the saying "dress for the job you want"? Recently, young men in North Nashville got a taste of how that can pay off.
The non-profit No Life, Youth or Community Wasted, gathered teens from the 37208 zip code for mock interviews with local business owners.
In exchange, each teen got a brand new dress shirt, a black tie and a crash course in putting it all together.
"I didn't know how to tie a tie until I was 34-years-old," Terrancé Akins, the organizer, said. "A lot of these people don't have a father, don't have someone investing in them. So it was important to us for them to know they have leaders in their community who are willing to not just talk about it, but be about it."
Terrancé Akins put the program together. A few times a week, young men participate in his Reverc Youth Initiative.
"It's about leading your generation out of poverty, it's about breaking cycles of youth crime, incarceration... not losing your life, definitely not getting caught in the system," Terrancé Akins explained. "It's about the future. This is a new wave of the future we want to come forth. We're tired of losing our youth to gun violence, crimes, drugs. We need to save our youth."
Akins invited local small business owners and community leaders to help conduct the interviews. Mentors included an actor, a state representative and a bail bondsman.
"This is something that's major for these boys," William Gant, manager at A Way Out Bonding, said. "It's going to be a major thing to go in someone's job or building and try to obtain that job. The main thing I told [them] is to be sure, take those five deep breaths when you're outside that door, get your composure, breath. It's something new to them. [They've] never had a job before. [If] you're going to do something you've never done before I would be nervous."
Each teen that participated is trying to get a small business off the ground. Some of their ideas include painting murals, pressure washing, and landscaping.
Akins would like to give $1,000 to each young man to help jump start their business. If you would like to help, email reporter Hannah McDonald at Hannah.McDonald@newschannel5.com and she will connect you.
