When tasked with coming up with a youth service project in Cherokee County, Terry Hall had any number of options.

The South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice is holding a special community service event Saturday, Sept. 12, called "Restoring Carolina Through Youth Service." DJJ offices in counties across the state have chosen many different ways to participate, including putting youths to work in cleanup efforts, in lawn maintenance projects, food drives, and feeding the homeless.

Hall, director of the Cherokee County DJJ office, chose to use the event to give area youths a better look at the future and to challenge them to become willing participants in making their community a better place.

Cherokee County's DJJ office, in conjunction with Career Source, will observe the event with a career fair to be held at the Career Source office at 1516 Old Georgia Hwy. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The local DJJ office is supervising about 38 youths who ended up in the juvenile justice system, Hall said. The Sept. 12 event, however, is open to all area youths.

"We wanted to make it available to all of them," Hall said.

The event will focus on the types of jobs in the community, and the amount of education required to get those jobs, to give area children a better idea of what they have to accomplish.

"They'll be able to see what opportunities are out there and what it takes to get employed," Hall said.

Several area employers are expected to participate in the program.

Hall also wants the event to showcase the types of volunteer work area children can do in their community, and he plans to reach out to local volunteer organizations in upcoming days to secure their participation in the event as well.

"We want them (the children) to be involved in their community, to invest in their community and know they have a place in their community," Hall said.

While the career fair is a one-day event, the process of helping youth in the DJJ system is a year-round endeavor. Adults aren't left out of the equation, either.

DJJ offices are always looking for volunteers to work with office staff and with the youth, Hall said. If you're interested and willing, all you have to do is contact a local DJJ office and go through the application process.

"More recently our volunteers have come on board as APO's (Auxiliary Probation Officers) in the local office," Hall said. "Each of these individuals are tasked with working with one juvenile at a time."