Leadership Selma-Dallas County held a graduation ceremony for their youth class on Wednesday at Wallace Community College-Selma.

After a lunch at the college, graduates presented their community projects and shared what they had gained most from their past year in the leadership program.

Community projects ranged from volunteer work with local civic groups to helping beautify local school grounds.

Graduates Rachel Johnson, Colleen Jones and Lauren Ross created care packages for Teen Challenge.

According to their presentation, Alabama Teen Challenge is a 12-month, residential drug and alcohol recovery service. It takes a “faith-based approach” instead of a clinical treatment or mental health facility.

“We worked with the Men’s Induction Center West in Jones, Alabama,” said Jones. “we know people that have been through rehab but did not have the experience that Teen Challenge gives. At first, we wanted to see what it really was about. Then we found out that their greatest need was hygiene kits and we were happy to meet their needs.”

The group hosted an out of uniform day at Morgan Academy where students paid $2 to wear regular clothes to school instead of their uniforms. The group raised $518, according to the presentation.

The hygiene kit included a soap bar, deodorant, a comb, shampoo, shaving cream, toothpaste, toothbrush, two different pairs of socks and one pair of work gloves. The group spent $306 and donated the $210 left over.

Judy Assaad hosted a bracelet making day at Bloom House.

“Despite its importance, the topic of foster care tends to be forgotten,” said Assaad during her presentation. “I wanted the foster children to have a fun day, and more importantly, I wanted them to be reminded that they are loved and important.”

Assaad shared some statistics.

“There are currently 6,000 children in foster care in Alabama,” said Assaad. “A 2015-2016 U.S. Children’s Bureau report said that there were safety concerns in 8 percent of foster homes. However, some children do remain with their parents for in-home services. 32 percent of these in-home service homes have safety concerns.”

Bryant Gordon, Maximus Jones and Derrick Hatcher assisted with the 9^th Annual John D. Taylor Scholarship Banquet that was sponsored by the Brothers of the Delta Pi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Baylee House donated to the Save-a-life, a non-profit women’s medical clinic.

Mary Kathryn Edwards spent time with the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center making blankets and donating to the organization.

“What I learned is that people with disabilities are just the same as we are and should be treated that way,” Edwards said. “These kids have made a huge impact in my life.”

Richard Waters formed a partnership with the Old Depot Museum in order to teach young students the history of Selma. He said he plans to continue the partnership even after the graduation.

Natalie Oslund, Emily Strickland and Caroline Thomas volunteered with Sky Hill Animal Society for their community project.

Lynn Sanders, who works with Sky Hill attended the graduation and talked about the changes the girls had made.

“Natalie Oslund started volunteering at Sky Hill as soon as we got it up and going,” according to a Facebook post on Sky Hill’s page. “She has loved working with the dogs. She even brought her friends Emily Strickland and Caroline Thomas out to help from time to time.”

Sanders told the girls a story of how she had used horses to help a boy with sensory issues get a haircut by using the horses to distract him.

“Only issue is the big barn for the horses is in the middle of the property, and not everyone drives trucks,” according to the post. “There is a little white barn between the kennels and the house. it hasn’t been used for many years, but we all knew it had potential.”

The post continues saying Sanders told Oslund how she would one day want to have the barn set up in a way that the horses could be easily interacted with.

The girls’ project chose to redo the barn calling their project “Stalls with a Cause”.

They obtained donations for supplies and did what Sanders called the “grunt” work.

“The dream for one day has come true,” the post continues. “God even lined it up perfect to bring a rescue horse in need of her own stall to come into the program.”

Sanders thanked the girls for their work saying she was “glad to know our future is in the hands of future leaders like you.”

Graduates were Judy Assaad, Abigail Bohannon, Mary Edwards, Jason Egbert, Akerriyana Golson, Bryant Gordon, Alexis Hall, Derrick Hatcher, Baylee House, Jerome Houser, Rachel Johnson, Travion Johnson, Colleen Jones, Maximus Jones, Natalie Oslund, Lauren Ross, Tamia Sharpe, Kenney Smitherman, Emily Strickland, Acadia Thomas, Caroline Thomas, Justin Walker and Richard Waters.