ATLANTA — Each weekend, Royal Hammond heads to Soul Good Fine Food restaurant on Joseph E. Boone Boulevard.
Hungry, not for takeout, but a chance to learn.
"I wanted to better my community," the 15-year-old explained. "Because most people, they don't get a job until they're in college or like leaving school, and I want to also to encourage my little brothers as well."
But the teen says landing a job wasn't so easy.
"I didn't know how to get a resume. I didn't know how to apply for a job or how to get a job," Royal said.
So she turned to Teens to Work, a 4-week program run by nonprofit That's My Child which recently launched efforts in Westside Atlanta.
"We specialize in ending generational poverty," Andarious Porter, outreach coordinator for the program, said. "We help put teens to work. We help prepare them for the real world."
Porter is pre-med at Morehouse College and an alumni of the program. He summed up the program as part inspiration and part training, showing teens what it takes to be part of the job market and connecting them with potential employers.
"It also taught us proper etiquette while in our interview, and we also had fun," Royal added.
The program aims to give teens a foot in the door, yet also boosts businesses in a time when many are struggling to find workers.
But for restaurant owner Clifford Simpson, learning about students' local connection to the neighborhood was the real selling point.
"Once I found out they were growing up in the neighborhood, living in the neighborhood, it enticed me more to try the program," he said.
Simpson, owner of Soul Good Fine Food, is one of several local employers placing teens in jobs following their graduation from the program.
The nonprofit graduated its second class of students Wednesday night and continues to look for community partners to place teens as they pass through the program.
An inaugural benefit is also being held on Nov. 4, and part of fundraising proceeds with go towards a van to help transport students.
Sign up to become a participating student or community partner here.