11 Jan Preparing youth for work, empowering them for life
Mill Community Ministries is a partner organization of Grace Church. Over the past several years, we have worked alongside MCM as they have worked with neighborhoods in West Greenville to launch a variety of community empowerment programs. Read below for a unique opportunity to work with this group in the next several months.
Last year, proportion of teenagers who worked was at its lowest rate since World War II. Sure, this may be because they have grown lazier or more passive, but it also has to with more competition and fewer available jobs. Either way, we have a responsibility to equip the next generation for success in the workforce.
It’s not that our youth aren’t talented, or don’t have access to more knowledge and education than ever before. The problem isn’t work skills, but work “soft skills.”
Employers think the majority of young workers do not have the soft skills needed for success:
“Managers have an overall negative view of young workers, and point to their lack of soft skills regarding communication and interpersonal interactions, time management abilities and willingness to work as a team.”
Meeting the Need
We at Mill Village Farms recognize this problem among the youth in our neighborhoods and in the greater Greenville community. Therefore, we hire teenagers (38 in 2015, with plans for close to 60 in 2016), giving many of them their first jobs. And we hold them to professional standards, teaching them the importance of appearance, communication, work ethic, and more.
More than that, we teach classes in entrepreneurship and personal finance, geared specifically for teenagers. And last year, we implemented a program called Powered for Life, in which 15 teenagers learned the importance of soft skills and having a vision for their life, over a 16-week period.
About 70% of the teenagers in this program came from neighborhoods in downtown Greenville, what many have called the Unseen Greenville. Since many of them are lacking other connections and resources, we have been able to give them the opportunity they desperately need.
With the success of this program, we decided to grow it — to at least two locations and opening it up to over 30 teenagers. But we can’t do it alone. We need your help.
Your Partnership
Do you want to help the next generation become Powered for Life? We have several ways for you to be involved:
- Volunteer as a mentor. No prep time is needed. You just need to be present for at least 8 of our sessions, to engage and encourage a couple of teenagers. And you’ll get a free meal, too!
- Provide two meals over the 16-week period. A great opportunity for a group to serve together.
- Make a financial donation to cover the cost of curriculum and materials. (Put “Powered for Life” in the memo line.)
If you want to serve as a mentor or provide meals, you can pick from either Monday or Tuesday nights. Meals start at 5:30 pm, and class runs from 6-7:30 pm.
From childhood to college, our youth need these soft skills so that they can have success in life and in work, and you can equip and empower them. Will you partner with us at Mill Village Farms?
Send me an email at [email protected].
-Joey Espinosa, Mill Community Ministries