Dear SWP parents, I want to start by thanking all of you for your engagement and participation so far. Our communication has been great, and you have been responding to my requests promptly, thank you. The program kickoff took place on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, with training at New Tech High School. At training day, the youth had the opportunity to meet their respective mentors and received all the information, materials, and uniforms needed for the program. The mentors and other presenters worked with the youth on various activities including a financial literacy workshop, Nicasa Teen Court mock trial, team building and leadership exercises, and reviewing the employee handbook. We would like to thank Nicasa, Community Partners for Affordable Housing and Chris Kubic, Zion Benton Township High School social studies teacher and community leader, for such great presentations. Also, thank you to New Tech High School for letting us use their space. Twenty-eight youth were hired and each of them went through an application and interview process. Seven out of the 28 were placed at Zion-Benton Public Library, Zion Assessor’s office and Zion Township Supervisor’s office. The rest of the youth were placed in a maintenance crew. The Zion Township staff worked hard to plan and coordinate the program. Each staff member took the lead at some capacity to coordinate for Parent Orientation, interviews, Training Day, job placements, and the curriculum for the program. We hired great mentors and they are coaching, teaching, mentoring, and showing the youth the ins and outs of employment and helping develop leadership and citizenship skills. Mr. Rod Henry has been a SWP mentor for about 10 years and is the mentor’s lead. Mr. Henry has been a great asset to the program. The new addition to the team is Mr. Cameron Bridges. He is a ZB graduate and is eager to learn the program and to work with the youth.
NEWSLETTER July 1, 2022 WEEK 1 & 2 2022 SESSION – ISSUE 1
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