The First Bahamas Branch of Toastmasters Club 1600 is deepening its connection to the Simpson Penn Center for Boys with the launch of a new Gavel Club at the juvenile detention facility.
The initiative follows on the heels of a youth leadership program held at the school earlier this year, during which students were empowered to communicate, collaborate, think critically and lead.
“We will expand our relationship beyond the eight sessions of a youth leadership program,” said Devaughn Taylor, the 57th president of the elite organization.
“We will do this by implementing and facilitating a Gavel Club for those students, so that our presence is more tangible, and the intangible benefit of positive male role models is shared with those boys that really need it.”
Gavel Clubs are typically established when interested members are either too young or unable to attend regular meetings. They operate like established clubs with speeches, evaluators and officers. However, Gavel Clubs must have a host institution.
The partnership will enable Simpson Penn’s residents to make use of the communication, public speaking and leadership skills they developed earlier this year. With newfound confidence, it is hoped they will develop a positive outlook on life and learn respect for themselves and others.
Taylor, who previously served as the club’s education vice president, is convinced that greater engagement between his members and the at-risk youths will yield positive results. It’s something he experienced firsthand.
“Ten years ago, a 20-year-old me entered the halls of Club 1600 for the first time. Everything about Club 1600 was what I wanted for myself, but I only hoped to join. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t be a Toastmaster, I was still afraid to say, ‘bus stop’ on a jitney. How was I ‘gone speak’ in front of an audience of distinguished men? Who would ever see me as a leader? Not only that, I was also faced with a plethora of personal challenges that could destroy my life at any second,” Taylor recalled.
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