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Four LaGrange, Georgia teens chose to find jobs this summer instead of joining gangs, The Huffington Post reports.

The four young men — Dylik Smith, 13, Jalen Parham, 13, and twin brothers, Desmond and Deion Woodard, 14 —were persistent.

They first approached Zsa Zsa Heard, CEO at LaGrange Housing Authority, about jobs in May when the school year ended. The boys arrived early for their appointment on July 27 to discuss job opportunities with Heard.

Heard expected a typical response when she asked the teenagers why they wanted a job.

“I thought they just wanted to work for money,” she told The Post.

But their response surprised her:

“That’s when Desmond told me, ‘We just don’t want to be in gangs,’” Heard said. The other three were reluctant at first, but they confirmed that gangs approached them as well.

Heard moved quickly:

“I hired them on the spot! The streets will not have our children!” she posted on Facebook.

The boys now earn $7.25 per hour at the Housing Authority. Their work includes tending a community garden, odd jobs around the facility, and building new picnic benches.

Heard told the news outlet the teenagers are hard workers who don’t mind doing any task — even cleaning up the chicken coop.

SOURCE: Huffington Post | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Facebook

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Teens Ask For Summer Jobs To Stay Out Of Trouble  was originally published on newsone.com