11/24/20: The Pender County Empowering Youth and Families Program (EYFP) took time last week to highlight and thank one of their important community partners, Bandana’s Bar and Grill, which has been providing food for Pender County EYFP since its inception. Bandana’s is located in Burgaw, NC, and serves a variety of delicious food such as barbeque, cheesesteak sandwiches, and salads. Bandana’s was opened in 2010 by Cynthia and Tony Fontana, who still own the business today. The couple were inspired by Tony’s dad, who ran a restaurant in New York, to get into the food industry themselves. The iconic name for their restaurant actually came from a waitress who worked at the restaurant when they first started. Instead of calling her boss Tony Fontana, she got in the habit of calling him Tony Bandana – which caught on fast. Bandana’s has catered for Pender County EYFP on many occasions such as during their community event and weekly sessions. They thank Bandana’s for their impeccable service and hope to continue working with them in the future.
In Yancey County, their session this week focused on role models and influences. The meeting started with the family being tasked to go on a scavenger hunt of sorts and share the items they found that they felt fit the description. For “an item special to you,” one of the youth shared their guinea pig! Everyone enjoyed the activity as it got them up and moving about. Facilitators then tied this activity into the lesson on how people who are important role models can influence our actions, for better or worse. The youth brainstormed different people in their lives who they felt had an impact on them. While this task proved a bit difficult at first, once they got the ball rolling the youth were able to come up with many examples such as family, friends, and celebrities. They discussed what sorts of traits led to them becoming closer to these people and what made them positive influences. At the end of the session, the family shared video and pictures of them doing different activities together during the week such as playing Jenga, completing the independent family sessions, and cooking meals as a family. Even if they started off close, the family is growing stronger and closer by leaps and bounds. Everyone in Yancey County EYFP is having a blast.
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