By Mollie Beth Wallace

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Even though the children in D&J Youth Group are out of school for the summer, Dianne and Joe Good have a little more education in store for them.

The Goods started a youth group in their neighborhood nine years ago, and since then they have planned a trip each summer.

“We alternate between a long trip one year and a short trip the next,” Joe said.

Last year, the group ventured all the way to Canada, so this summer, the Goods decided to take a trip within the South.

On June 17, the Goods and 32 children, ranging for age 8 to 18, will load a bus and travel east to Alabama, then finally to Atlanta.

Making stops in Selma, Ala., to take the “Footprints of Freedom Tour,” and then stopping by Tuskegee University for lunch, the group will get a history lesson on their way to Georgia.

Once they arrive in Atlanta, the group will tour the Georgia Aquarium and CNN, among other attractions, before finally arriving at the height of their trip — Six Flags over Georgia.

D&J Youth Group organizes two fundraisers each year to raise money for the trip.

“We teach them to work so they can pay for (the trip) themselves,” Joe said. “We’re not just giving it to them. This way they can learn you have to work for things.”

The group will have its biggest fundraiser Saturday at Prince Street Day Care Center. They invite the community to come join them from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a barbecue lunch.

For more information or to make a donation, call 601-442-4169. Donations are tax-deductible.