Most importantly, young people need positive family communications and family boundaries, which many lack. The Apex Youth Initiative serves students from Apex Middle Monday through Thursday afternoons at the school and at Faith Missionary Baptist Church in the Carolina Pines area. The program is designed around the charac ter building assets and promoting positive values in youth. It has close ties with the school. Teachers are sometimes available to help students after school and the youth have access to the school's computer labs.
Youth take part in homework clinics, recreational sports, and character education projects.
Inc. Youth at the meeting praised Ward, the Apex Youth Initiative, and character education. They were also able to demonstrate the best way to keep a team's balloons in the air. They carefully tied all the balloons together and had one team member lay on the floor. Working together, the team could easily keep their balloons in the air and if it neared the floor, the person acting as the safety net could bounce it back into the air. Character educators said the student's problem solving could serve as an example for those who manage programs for youth.