The Mid-Columbia Woodturners obtained a grant from the American Association of Woodturners to assist a local school program. The Jubilee Christian Academy is a private school that was set up to help troubled youth (teen-age boys) turn them around. Most of the students are from broken families and have been isolated and unaccepted in their homes, school and communities. Many have had a disregard for rules, have declining grades and most likely, a history of substance abuse. Jubilee offers a fully accredited Washington State High School Diploma. More than 100 boys pass through the program each year.

Vocational education is part of the classes offered to the students. Wood technology is o­ne of the five vocational programs. While the school has the wood technology program it lacks resources for wood turning. The Mid-Columbia Woodturners have already donated two small bench lathes to the school. The grant was used for tools and accessories so the lathes can then be used for classroom instruction. The Mid-Columbia Woodturners also held a fund raising event and received $300 from the sale that was applied to help the school with the lathes.The instructor for the Wood Technology Program had asked our club for assistance with the youth in his classes. Our club members were given a tour of the facility and were introduced to the Director of Education. We discussed the various types of assistance that could be provided by club members tutoring, demonstrations, and donations of wood. Our chapter has assisted the school with the lathes by having members provide demonstrations to the various classes. Such demonstrations included lathe safety, proper use of tools, sharpening tools, basics of spindle and faceplate turning and finishing. The club also helped to supply the school with various woods for student projects. Woodturning has the benefit of providing the beginner with positive and immediate feedback they can produce a useful item first time at the machine. The students can grow with their experiences at the lathe. They will learn lot about the various kinds of wood and they will learn about the proper proportions, aesthetics, finishing and even marketing. The vocational programs are designed to provide the students with the skills needed to get a job after graduation. These "at-risk"� youth are in a desperate need for a second chance and our club believes that by enhancing the Wood Technology program these youth will have an even greater opportunity to succeed.