Urban Rangers graduate after hard working summer program

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - Just as most people are starting to get geared up for back to school, there was a graduation Friday. These teens have spent their summer working harder than many of their peers during the school year.

It started with as much military discipline as Annapolis or West Point. That's standard procedure for the Urban Rangers - that and a lot of hard work.

"We fixed a lot of houses, we worked on trails, we had some fun stuff too; we went canoeing,” 14-year-old Georell Bullock said.

Friday they graduated from the nine week program that had them getting up early, hiking, exercising and working. They also had instructional workshops and health screening and education.
They were even paid for the work they did.

"He truly enjoyed what they taught him. It wasn't just about the work and getting money, but you began to see even change in his character,” said Octavia Southall, an aunt of one of the Rangers.

That's the goal: to give these kids good habits, skills and confidence.

"The 14-15 year olds, some of 'em are just being freshmen in high school and they're getting picked on in school and gangs are recruiting them and this is the time to toughen 'em up a little bit and give them confidence when they go to school they can kinda resist that,” said Urban Rangers founder Rev. John Wandless.

The hope is they will carry these lessons into their futures.

"It doesn't just end with this there's no way with the hard work they had to do,” Southall said.

"I might do construction now or painting houses. I'm thinking about it now,” Georell said.