WS Chronicle

With Black History Month now upon us, people are celebrating the month in all types of unique ways.  The clients of Friendly People That Care (FPTC) decided to show their appreciation for Black History Month by highlighting African-American inventors.

Friendly People That Care is a company that seeks to improve the quality of life for individuals less fortunate, both physically and emotionally.  The company has several group homes throughout the Triad area along with a day program that is designed to encourage growth for their clients.

According to Wendy Adams, an employee at FPTC, they like to have a Black History Month celebration each year.  This year they decided to break their clients into groups and have them research an African-American inventor along with building a replica of their invention.

“We wanted them to get connected with the inventor because most times they just have a name to see,” said FPTC employee Robin McDowell.  “Doing the invention actually lets them see the person’s picture and they got involved with the materials they used and understand the actual inventions.”

The four African-American inventors celebrated were: George Franklin Grant, who invented the golf tee; Robert Flemming, who invented the euphonica guitar; George Washington Carver, who invented many things but they honored his creation of peanut butter; and Garrett Morgan, who created the traffic signal.

Each group made a replica of their invention along with a brief history of the inventor.  They were then judged by several employees to determine an overall winner.

“They loved competing against each other and the secrecy of it because we kept each group’s project away from everyone else,” McDowell continued. 

Adams added, “I got so emotional I cried because just to see them before and after the project was amazing because we all learned so much. 

The clients were very excited about presenting their inventors to the crowd.  It was a close race between the stop light and the euphonica guitar, but in the end the team who honored Flemming and his euphonica guitar won.

“I helped with the names and helped with the painting, designs and strings on the guitar,” said Sarah Shouse, a client at FPTC.  “I had a lot of fun doing the project and I felt super when I found out we won.”

Christian Evans, another member of the winning team, said, “It was really fun and everyone helped put it together.  It took us like a week or so to finish it and I was surprised when they said we won.”

According to Adams and McDowell, FPTC likes to involve their clients with activities and field trips frequently.  They also teach their clients life skills, allowing them to become more independent.