Children will have an opportunity for fun competition and lessons on real world dangers next week.

Western Tidewater Community Service Board prevention specialist Teko Wynder is organizing the “3-Point Shoot Out and Life Skills Workshop” for Saturday. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at King’s Fork Middle School for children ages 8-17.

Wynder said he wants to educate children on community risks and that basketball helps get their attention.

“I use basketball as a carrot to draw the kids in and teach them the pitfalls that keep them from living their dreams,” he said.

Boys and girls will be grouped by ages and individually shoot the ball for one minute in the King’s Fork gymnasium. Virginia Wesleyan College basketball player Kaelin Poe and Nansemond River High School basketball coach Ed Young will supervise along with 20 WTCB volunteers.

One group will shoot, while the other kids are in workshop classrooms. Speakers will talk about gang awareness, bullying and making positive choices. Wynder will personally discuss the dangers of drug use.

“More and more young people are dying,” he said. “Every time a young person uses drugs is like Russian roulette.”

The event is free, and Chick-fil-A will provide lunch. The first 200 children to arrive will receive free T-shirts. Trophies will be presented to the competition winners, along with various sportswear donated to the WTCSB by community residents and organizations.

“I’ve had some great donations,” Wynder said. “That tells me that the community does care about the youth.”

He encourages parents to join their children at these workshops so they can learn to communicate with their kids about what’s going on in their lives.

“Some kids have told me that they go a day without talking to their parents,” he said. “Parents need to be part of their kids’ lives every day. If you are a parent, wouldn’t you want to know who you kids are hanging around with?”

For more information and registration, call 942-1970.