Danville mentorship program teaches kids leadership

DANVILLE, Ill. (WAND) - The Three Kings of Peace are back with their Youth Mentoring Program in Danville this summer.

The program is for students to learn basic reading and writing skills, but it's more than that.

"What we’ve been living in the last three years our kids are taking each other's life at a younger age and we want to stop that. We want to do all we can try to prevent our young folks from taking someone’s life at an early age,” said Pastor of Mount Olive Church in Danville and one of The Three Kings of Peace, Frank McCullough.

Leadership is one of the main goals in the program. Kids like Kensean Sangster are learning a lot.

“I get to learn reading, math, how to be a leader, how to get stuff done, and how to listen,” said Sangster.

However, after decades of holding the program for children the goal remains the same.

“The kids that I’ve worked with, they’ve got kids of their own and they use their same values as I’ve taught them and they remind their kids 'you know this is what Mr. Butler had done to us, look how I turned out to be' and I’m just amazed because man they didn’t forget,” said NAACP President of Danville and one of The Three Kings of Peace, Edward J. Butler.

The program is held at the Youth Mentoring Center behind Mount Olive Baptist Church in Danville on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 am to 2 pm. For more information contact Frank McCullough at 217-766-8735 or Edward J. Butler at 217-920-2825.