South Carolina Shop Holds Automotive Maintenance Summer Camp for Kids

The owner of Riverside Garage and Tire in Laurens, South Carolina, had an idea for how to get local youth involved in the automotive trade, reports Go Laurens.

Shop owner Jake Cooper was inspired by the variety of summer camps offered for kids in his area to launch his own summer camp on automotive basics for kids aged 10 and up.

The camp takes place over the course of three Fridays, with the first class revolving around how to dismount, mount, and balance tires, and has students perform 30-point inspections on vehicles. 

With the shop seeing a lot of agriculture business in the area, the second class goes over air conditioning service as well as working on tractor tires, with the final session having kids work on vehicle brakes, calipers, and rotors.

A lack of awareness in automotive maintenance is part of what drove Cooper and his wife Jessica to launch the summer camp, as well as the hope that it may provide a career path for some. He’s especially encouraged by the number of young girls he’s seen excelling.

“The kids are having a lot of fun with it. And even though we’re talking about a male dominated field, the ladies are doing very well,” Cooper said.

With the success of Riverside Garage’s summer camp, Cooper has plans to potentially offer more educational sessions like a ladies' auto awareness class.

“We thought if our youth can see it and experience it, maybe it’s a window into real-life careers but at the very least, it can be used for life skills in the future,” told Cooper.