March 24, 2016 | By LYNDA STRINGER

A series of Thursday night classes that begins tonight at Titus County Cares seeks to give people facing economic challenges a boost.

Life STEP, which stands for Skills Training Empowering People, includes personal money management, job skills training, meal planning on a budget and health and wellness tips.

The first week’s session is on financial management taught by Danny Muskrat. Week two’s session on March 31, led by Jeffrey Crab, will teach students how to properly fill out a job application and how to conduct themselves in a job interview. The third session on April 7 will be taught by Tennison Memorial United Methodist Church Pastor Mike Cline.

“That class will teach you how to grocery shop and prepare a meal using a lot of the items at the TCC food pantry,” said Caroline Blackard, a member of Center Church which is partnering with TCC to launch the new program.

The final week’s class on healthy lifestyles will be taught by Leah Crabb and Stephanie Guzman, Center Church members and registered nurses.

“They will be teaching healthy eating and basic medicines that you should have on hand to keep your family healthy,” Blackard said.While the classes are going on, there will be games and activities for the kids. That part will be organized by Center Church member Sarah Muskrat.

Crabb, who serves on the Titus County Cares board is also a member of Center Church, but he stresses that while his church is launching the program, they are reaching out to other churches and organizations in the community to get involved with the new ministry outreach.

“Right now it’s mostly Center Church people leading it, but it’s not a Center Church thing. We expect that if it does well and grows, we will need help from the community,” he said. Titus County Cares volunteers and National Honor Society students will be involved when the classes kick off. Crabb said this type of outreach has been something Titus County Cares has talked about for years.

“Our vision is so much more than just feeding people. Yes, we’re an emergency food pantry, but beyond that, we yearn to help these families in trying situations get out of those situations,” he said. “We talk about how we can better equip them to find a job, to manage their money. That’s been a conversation for a long time.”

The classes are open to anyone in the community not just TCC customers and having the classes at the community organization’s facility rather than at a church, regardless of denomination, is a more neutral location for many people who might not attend church.

“The facility fit the need of empowering people with knowledge in a place where they may feel more comfortable and a place that is centrally located,” Crabb said.

Center Church Pastor Jeremy Thomas said the program aligns with his congregation’s vision “to be a light in our city and make our city a better place.”

“We are looking for where God is working and joining him. He’s working at Titus County Cares, so it is a great partnership,” Thomas said.

The classes begin at 6 p.m. at the Titus County Cares building at 301 N. Edwards Ave. in Mount Pleasant.

After the 45-minutes classes, Crabb said there will be a time of fellowship and a cookout.

“We want to love on them. We’re here to love these people; we want to come together in that way, eat a meal and serve each other in that way,” he said.

For more information about the Life STEP classes, call Titus County Cares at 903-575-9157.

Lynda Stringer is a Mount Pleasant, TX-based freelance writer and owner of Stringer Media. Contact her at Lynda.Stringer@outlook.com.