A local faith-based organization, specializing in at-risk youth, wrapped up its summer outreach program this week, after months of education, structure and fun.

The Purpose of God Annex Outreach Center Summer Program, which provides a healthy balance of learning and recreation for children and teenagers, has been a beacon of hope in the community for at-risk youth. Friday, the organization held its awards ceremony and a basketball tournament, celebrating the end of this year’s program.

Bishop Jones, founder and CEO of POG, said the program has readied its participants for the transition back to school in more ways than one, reinforcing structure, discipline and education. Throughout the summer, participants of the program were immersed in a wide range of activities, trips and recreation, Jones said.

“Most of these kids are at-risk youth,” Jones said. “We want to show them they can do these things that they think they can’t do in the public school system. We assist the schools in doing what we can in giving them that structure, that discipline and that order so when they get back to school, they will be more manageable and teachable. “

During the summer, the children participated in educational sessions, honing their skills in subjects like language arts and math, Jones said. In addition, the children were able to learn some basic life skills like sewing, baking with the use of Easy Bake Ovens and construction, learning to build birdhouses, Jones said. There was also a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), teaching the children how to use microscopes and taking them on a series of excursions to places like Sylvan Bird Park in Scotland Neck, River Park North in Greenville, the Children’s Museum and Science Center in Rocky Mount and the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, Jones said. The trips were made possible through grants funded by organizations like the United Way, the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, the City of Washington and donations from private contributors.

Local trips taken included Beaufort County Community College where the children toured the career center and campus and the Beaufort County Health Department, in which kids learned about nutrition, hygiene and the importance of physical activity, Jones said.

Jones said the center was also able to provide a number of recreational activities for the children, including basketball, baseball and softball leagues, inflatable bounce houses and water slides, a trampoline and swimming.

Although the center’s primary focus was related to structure, discipline and education, Jones says one component of the program encourages children to explore their spiritual existence and to come to know God. The children were schooled in Christian values and were taught the 10 Commandments, a number of Bible stories, including Jonah and the ark, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel and more, Jones said.

“Our program is not a Bible school, but we don’t exclude God,” Jones said. “We want them to know God. We try to reiterate those spiritual and moral values so that they will really have something to hold them together. When you have both components — education and God — you will be blessed. That’s the message we want to send; we incorporate academics and the spiritual part of our program. We entice them to go to church and Sunday school and learn some things about who they are as spirit men as well as being outside and learning about who they are as natural men.”

During the program’s award ceremony, medals and trophies were given for winners of the summer spelling and reading contests and victors of the program’s sports tournaments. Jones said the center holds the ceremony to give the children incentives to work hard in its educational outreach and various children received gift certificates, bikes and other prizes for their success in the program.