“Children are the world’s most valuable resource and it’s best hope for the future,” said John F. Kennedy; but in a world rife with issues and conflict, the future doesn’t always seem promising. On Friday, July 29, T. Pinckney and Associates is presenting the Teen Explosion Conference in order to prepare today’s students for the best fu-ture possible.

The institute is partnering with businesses in the Sandhills region of North Carolina to sponsor an annual end-of-summer culminating event that encourages teenagers to plan for a successful school year and apply themselves at their high-est capacity upon returning to school,” their website explains.

Mind OVER Matter Youth Development Institute was es-tablished in 1997, and is the organization that is partner-ing with local businesses, such as Kidsville News!, Kaplan, Inc., Pinckney & Associates and Up & Coming Weekly, to present the Teen Explosion Conference.

Mind OVER Matter Youth Development Institute provides organiza-tional consulting for many different nonprofit organizations. “An organiza-tion with capacity is like a tree with good roots. We help your organization grow healthy roots!”

The self-proclaimed primary goal of this organization is to support youth with skills that they need to be successful, by emphasizing the value of self, interactions with others and the impact this has on social and aca-demic development. It specifically services youth ages 11-19, or grades six through their freshman year in college. Mind OVER Matter Youth Development Institute is a nonprofit, and specializes in organizational de-velopment, program evaluation, staff training, strategic planning, and youth program development and monitoring services.

Dr. Teresa Thompson-Pinckney, the founder of the Back-to-School Teen Explosion Conference, explains the day as, “ a day for the business community to support our teenagers in an environment that makes the daily rigor of going to school relevant to our future generation of employees. When many teens graduate from high school, according to the private and public sector, our young people do not have the skills needed to succeed at work. This conference offers teens an authentic experience to learn strate-gies for school success, understand how to prepare for college and an op-portunity to interact with business and community leaders.”

Some highlights of the conference include a presentation on effective testing strategies sponsored by Kaplan as well as presentations on the importance managing finances and preparing for college with a 10-year plan.

The conference will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Hotel Bordeaux & Conference Center.

It is open for all who wish to participate ages 13 through 18. Registration begins at 8 a.m. For more information, contact Teresa Thompson-Pinckney at 486-4084. Breakfast and lunch are provided for participants.

Photo: On Friday, July 29, T. Pinckney and Associates is presenting the Teen Explosion Conference in order to prepare today’s students for the best future possible.