A Metro Augusta organization wants to give parents and their children skills today that will teach leadership for tomorrow. Your company can help as well.
Resilient Communities of East Georgia (RCEG) is holding the 2026 Resilient Teen Summit this Saturday, Aug. 29th. The summit will examine challenges facing teens as they prepare to be the next generation of leaders.
The organization began the Resilient Teens program six years ago, and this will be the 14th cohort.
The summit is for students in grades six through 12. Best said, a goal for the daylong event is to lay the groundwork for the skills students will need as adults entering the workforce.
“Teens are still struggling. Their mental health is still struggling. We see this with rates of self-harm; we see this with rates of teen suicide, teens running away from home,” executive director Rebecca Best told ABD. “We want to strengthen the protective factors around these youth and their parents and caregivers, their families, their community partners, their schools, their law enforcement, their healthcare providers.”
“What the Resilient Teen Summit is really meant to do is provide youth and their parents with tools, with skills, with resources that they can use in their homes, that they can use in their place of work,” she said, adding that the lessons can be put to use immediately.
Best said, there are still opportunities for businesses to get involved to support the summit.
“We would welcome any sponsorship. We had some grant money that we were able to dedicate to the summit. However, any financial contribution or sponsorship obviously offsets costs,” she said. “Also, if a business wants to donate something to families and teens, we are going to be giving them swag bags. We’ve got over 14 community vendors already lined up for the summit, and they’re going to have a table to give out stuff.”
There will be eight sessions covering topics, including Behind the Screen: Understanding Today’s Digital Platforms and the Risks Every Family Should Know; Real Talk, a peer-led teen session; and Money Moves, a practical financial literacy session for teens.
Presenters will be leaders from education, healthcare, finance, and law enforcement, including the Columbia County School System, Medical College of Georgia, and CSRA Home Education Association.
RCEG serves more than a dozen counties in east central Georgia:
- Burke
- Columbia
- Glascock
- Hancock
- Jefferson
- Jenkins
- Lincoln
- McDuffie
- Richmond
- Screven
- Taliaferro
- Warren
- Washington Wilkes
“Skills that teens can use in relationships with other teens too, because their peer influences are very important to teenagers. So, the more teens we can reach, the better our future society will be. Because resilient youth grow into resilient adults,” she said.
Registration is $15 for each person, which includes snacks, drinks, and lunch. Best said, financial assistance is available.
The summit can accommodate just over 280 attendees, both students and their parents and caregivers. Registration is still open this week.
Learn more and register at https://rceg.org/rts26/
