While the goal of a Life Skills class at Juvenile Services (JS) offers exactly what its name implies, a recent session also provided an opportunity to engage with family and friends.
The class is called “Make, Take and Bake Pizza,” which was a first for JS staff and clients. Twenty-two clients and three staff members participated.
“The young people loved it,” said Laura Mason, community case manager. “They were excited to make the pizzas and take them home to bake for their families. We not only wanted to teach a skill but also provide families the opportunity to engage with one another.”
JS also used the event as a community-service opportunity for a few of the participants.
“This included shopping for ingredients such as pepperoni, beef and cheese, which the chefs ordered prior to the event,” Mason said. “They also cooked the meat in advance, filled containers with supplies and set up tables in an assembly-line format.”
Local business partners for the event were Pizza Hut, Walnut Bowl and Walmart.
“We appreciate our partners that helped make this class a success,” Mason commented. “We had a great turnout and most of the young people put genuine effort into applying the sauce and sprinkling the cheese to cover the pizza.
“It was fun to watch them learn to construct the pizza and fold the special boxes.”
After the event, one of the participants said “I am a pizza pro now. I took a picture of the masterpiece and my family helped me cook it. I had a lot of fun.”
When the class ended, participants were given cooking instructions and a bingo card. Those who return a completed card earn an incentive.
20th Judicial District Juvenile Services empowers youth in Barton, Rice, Ellsworth, Stafford and Russell counties to achieve positive outcomes by offering Juvenile Intake & Assessment, Immediate Intervention, Intensive Supervised Probation, Case Management, Journey to Change, Life Skills, All Stars and Youth Crew. Parents and guardians also are offered The Parent Project. Visit 1800 12th in Great Bend or call 620-793-1930.
