Contributed by Sherry Carrington, Connect Palmer
Thank you everyone who has supported and volunteered at Connect Palmer. We celebrated our 7th anniversary in May 2021.
We are excited that we will, once again, be offering our work ready program called “God’s Work Design”. We offered this program several times during our first few years, but our key volunteer coordinator moved out of state.
We had scheduled and were gearing up to re-start the program in May 2020. We had to cancel because, like the rest of the world, COVID-19 happened and we were unable to host it at that time.
Last month we were very happy to hire Amy Lalor as our new God’s Work Design Program Manager. We are thrilled to announce that this year’s first God’s Work Design will be held August 9th through August 27, 2021. We will run it again November 1st through November 18, 2021. In 2022, we will run the program once each quarter throughout the year.
God’s Work Design is a 3-week program. There is an application and an interview process to participate in to be accepted into the program. Those wishing to apply can find the application online at www.connectpalmer.org or at our training center at 202 S. Alaska St. We take six students each session.
The applicants that are accepted as students will experience a workplace setting. They clock-in Monday through Friday for the three weeks, from 8am to 4pm. The first week, students will work with staff and volunteers to create an application packet, which will include job applications, a resume, a reference letter and a cover letter. They will also participate in practice interviews and receive valuable feedback.
The 2nd and 3rd weeks, they will apply for jobs and attend workshops taught on many work-related topics by members of the community. They will also be asked to participate in local volunteerism and as opportunities open, job-shadowing.
There are several incentives available to qualifying students. Lunch is provided each day for all students and staff by local volunteers. Weekly gas vouchers are available for those who qualify. Thrifters Rock donates a voucher for work appropriate clothing and for the August 9th program, Emma Rose Hair Design is offering haircuts to qualifying students. Students that complete the program may qualify for rental or utility assistance (the maximum amount is $150). It is awarded on a sliding scale, based on the participation of the student. A minimum level of participation is required to qualify.
The goal for each student is apply for a minimum of 30 jobs during the three weeks. These jobs will be applied for both in-person and online.
The cost of this program is $375 per student. There are scholarships available for anyone in need. A scholarship application may be requested by contacting Connect Palmer at 907-746-9675 or Amy@connectpalmer.org.
There are also many ways to volunteer, from signing up on the meal train, https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/wkv537, to helping with computer skills and resumes. We also need transportation volunteers to assist in taking students to volunteer sites, to drop-off applications or resumes and to job interviews.
So, if you or someone you know needs help looking for work, please contact us at 907-746-9675 or Amy@connectpalmer.org.
If you are interested in volunteering; there is a volunteer application on our website, www.connectpalmer.org, or contact katie@connectpalmer.org.