EAST POINT, Ga. — The Grant's World Youth Job Resource Center in East Point is a dream Donese Gordon has worked toward for years, but she tells 11Alive it almost didn't happen.
"I almost gave up. It was hard dealing with grief and a traumatic experience from losing Grant," she said.
Gordon's son, Grant, was murdered four years ago. It was three weeks after he had gotten his first job working at Chick-Fil-A. Before that, she remembered helping him fill out applications, similar to how she counseled adults in similar positions.
She hopes the center will prevent other young people from being hurt the same way her son was.
"I hope to see kids get their dream job and also to find their purpose in life. I want them to start believing in themselves and to be you know, to believe that they can be who they were created to be," Gordon said
Saturday, one day before the fourth anniversary of Grant's death, Gordon held a job fair attended by employers like Bank of America and Waffle House. The idea is that having a job will keep kids out of the path of potential problem behaviors.
"We're just trying to give back to the youth, do our part in, you know, do the most positive thing and give the most positive and just try to get the kids a better outlook or another outlook or another way to earn an income or just point them in the right direction", career coach Gary Reed said.
Reed added that kids won't just learn how to interview, they will also have access to clothing once donations make their way in. The process is designed to ensure career success.
"We're trying to give them opportunities so they won't be out here running around, getting into no trouble or just having idle time to get into trouble," he said
Plans are in the works to host recruiter fairs every Friday with employers to give people a better chance at getting a job.
More information about Grant's World Youth Job Resource Center can be found here.