Fort Worth after-school getaway for at-risk boys adding vocational center
Tom Slone dreamed of opening a vocational center at Fort Worth’s Hope Farm.
Slone, founder of Touchstone Communications, was a proponent of vocational training and wanted to make sure that the boys who were being taught and cared for at the south side program would have training that could help secure their future.
Slone died in 2018 before his dream could come true. He was so actively involved in Hope Farm that the group is mentioned in his obituary. His family didn’t want his dream to end.
On Tuesday, ground was broken at Hope Farm’s Slone Vocational Center.
Hope Farm is an after-school getaway for boys who are growing up without fathers in the Historic Southside, Morningside and Hillside neighborhoods. The group also has campuses in the Como neighborhood and in Dallas. . Hope Farm’s goal is to break the cycles of poverty and crime by providing the boys a place where they can learn, grow, have positive role models and a warm dinner five days a week.
Now boys who attend Hope Farm will have an opportunity to earn a vocational certificate. Mentors at Hope Farm have focused since 1997 on prepping kids for college, but they recognize that the price tag can be too much for some.
“We believe in setting our boys up for success, and for a lot of our students, driving them toward college and insurmountable student debt is a tragic disservice,” said Sacher Dawson, Hope Farm executive director. “With vocational training, our boys will graduate high school with real hands-on work experience, a trade certificate, and connections to community business leaders. A career-ready, Christ-centered, empowered young man is a great gift to himself, his family and his community.”
Dawson said the building will house six classrooms and two conference rooms. It will be built at Hope Farm’s Ramsey Street location, just adjacent to the house where Hope Farm first began.
The group is partnering with Tarrant County College to create curriculum in welding, plumbing, HVAC, and light mechanic.
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price spoke briefly at the ground-breaking ceremony and gave her blessing and support to the group.
“Education is truly the biggest issue every city is facing,” she said, adding that a bright future is built on a good education and that vocational training is the backbone of that.
“This is a dream come true,” she said.
Hope Farm hopes to open the center to its first students in August 2022. It is still raising money to finish the construction.
Now through the end of the year, an anonymous donor will match all gifts for the Slone Vocational Center up to $70,000. Dawson said $200,000 is needed to finish the first two phases.
