Mark Shriver Praises Job Corps; Calls For Greater Attention to Youth Poverty

Last week, Mark Shriver, the son of Job Corps founder Sargent Shriver, wrote a letter to USA Today in response to an article regarding youth poverty. His argument for greater attention to youth poverty highlights the importance of not just Job Corps’ staff, but Job Corps’ advocates as well.

"When my father, Sargent Shriver, launched the War on Poverty for President Johnson in the mid-1960s, a broad swath of aggressive investments such as Head Start, Job Corps and VISTA made a dramatic dent in poverty rates across all age groups during the following decade.

Then we surrendered.

Kids don't appear on cable talk shows, contribute to political action committees or vote. Thus, they suffered the most and continue to do so, putting our nation's future at risk.

The presidential candidates this year are talking about how they would build an even greater, more prosperous and more competitive nation. If they are truly serious, then a meaningful debate about ending childhood poverty must become part of the conversation."

You can read the original article by clicking here.

Carl D. Perkins Annual CRC Meeting

The Carl D. Perkins Job Corps Center held its annual CRC meeting on February 23, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. in the school's gymnasium. The meeting had record attendance from the community with a total of 44 participants. The participants included center staff members, 28 community members, and SGA students.

The culinary arts class prepared a wonderful lunch and worked with Hotel lodging in setting up and serving our guests with the upmost professional service that would be seen in a five star restaurant.

Community members were nothing but impressed with the meeting and attendance. New potential partnerships were discussed, as well as potential influencers.

Students and Staff at MCDC Participate in Blood Drive

MCDC Wellness Advocates and Safety Cadets take time out from the recent blood drive to pose for a picture in front of the American Red Cross Truck.

The students and staff at MCDC participated in a blood drive in conjunction with the American Red Cross.  MCDC Wellness Advocates, Safety Cadets and staff members Becky Hall, Susan Lyons and Suzanne Graham helped coordinate the successful event.  Fifty-eight pints of blood were donated.  MCDC holds four blood drives each year with over 200 pints of blood collected.  Blood drives are just one way MCDC students give back to the Muhlenberg community through community service projects.

MCDC Announces Dean's List Students

In Photo: Solomon Tesfamichael

The Muhlenberg Career Development Center is proud to announce two students were named to the Dean’s List for the Fall Semester at the Madisonville Community College. Tesfamichael and Daniel Abedi both achieved a 3.5 or better grade point average and completed at least 12 credit hours to earn the honors.  Abedi, a December 2011 graduate of MCDC, obtained his Associate of Arts degree from MCC after completing 60 credit hours.  Tesfamichael has completed 15 hours and is currently enrolled at MCC taking an additional 16 hours.  Both Abedi and Tesfamichael completed their Medical Office Support and Pharmacy Technician certificates at MCDC.  Tesfamichael earned his high school diploma at MCDC, Abedi came to the Job Corps program with his high school diploma.  Muhlenberg currently has five students enrolled in the college program.

Groundhog Job Shadow Day at MCDC

The Muhlenberg Career Development Center conducted Groundhog Job Shadow Day activities on Thursday, February 2^nd.  One hundred and fifteen MCDC students took part in the activities with fifteen community employers participating.  Students shadowed at the Owensboro Mercy Hospital, GMS Welding, Meuth Concrete, Wayne Supply Caterpillar Dealer, West Kentucky Truck Sales, Greenville Utilities Company, Muhlenberg County Opportunity Center, Central City Tourism Office and Cisney/Cisney Law Offices.  Students got to experience what it is like to work with local employers and experience the tasks they perform each day to make their businesses successful.  Groundhog Job Shadow Day is an annual event sponsored by the United State Department of Labor.

MCDC student Phillip Drake is shown with Janet Brown, Muhlenberg County Circuit Court Clerk, at the Muhlenberg County Judicial Building

MCDC student Alvin Davis is shown with Greenville Utilities Commissioner, Gary Russ, Vicki Hariston and Cindy Snodgrass (seated) during his shadow experience at the Greenville Municipal Utilities office

Muhlenberg Students Participate in The Great Central United States Shakeout

The Safety Cadets and Center Safety Officer at the Muhlenberg Job Corps recently involved the student body and staff in an earthquake drill entitled “Great Central United States Shakeout.”  The drill was a state wide event that was coordinated locally by Keith Putnam, Emergency Services Director for Muhlenberg County.  Muhlenberg students were instructed on how to respond in case of an earthquake.  Many safety drills are held on the Muhlenberg campus each month, but earthquake preparedness is not usually one of the top priorities.

Putnam stated, “The Muhlenberg Job Corps sits very close to the New Madrid Fault. In the event of an earthquake along this fault line the center’s campus and structures would more than likely suffer severe to moderate damage.”  With a real earthquake being a distinct possibility, Susan Lyons, the center’s safety supervisor felt a drill would be a good way to help students be more prepared.  Many Muhlenberg students come from Florida and other states that are not used to the possibility of an earthquake.  Lyons said, “We hope an earthquake never occurs in our area, but we want to be the best prepared we can be if it does become a reality.”

Two Job Corps Centers Received the Gold Star Award!

(Celebrating their Gold Star award achievements are, left to right, Gary Jones, BCL for Muhlenberg Career Development Center; Pete Calvo, president of Horizons Youth Services; and Brian Broadway, BCL for Sacramento Job Corps Center.)

Two Job Corps centers operated by Horizons Youth Services were named Gold Star centers at the National Job Corps Association Policy Forum Feb. 6-8 in Washington, D.C.

The Muhlenberg Career Development Center in Greenville, Ky., and the Sacramento (Calif.) Job Corps Center both received the highest award for Congressional and community educational and outreach efforts during 2011. Only 49 of the 125 Job Corps centers nationwide received this honor.

Business & Community Liaisons Gary Jones of Muhlenberg and Brian Broadway of Sacramento spearheaded the Congressional and community educational and outreach efforts for each of their centers.

HYS President Pete Calvo praised both BCLs and their centers for their “tireless efforts in educating both members of Congress and their communities about the outstanding work their centers do to provide quality educational and job training opportunities for their students. Additionally, both of these centers have tremendous economic impacts on their communities – both in terms of the people they employ and the many businesses they partner with. Job Corps really does work – for the students we serve, for the communities in which we are located, for employers who hire Job Corps graduates, and for taxpayers who invest in the future by investing in our youth.”

This is the 9^th consecutive year that Muhlenberg has earned the Star Program’s Gold Star award, and the fourth consecutive year that Sacramento has earned the prestigious Gold Star.

The 2012 NJCA Operators Advisory Committee

HorizonsYouth Services has been elected to serve on the 2012 National Job Corps Association Operators Advisory Committee. HYS joins 11 other operators who also serve on the committee.

The OAC focuses on guiding the public policy priorities for the NJCA, including policy recommendations for the Department of Labor and guidance with regards to legislative priorities. The OAC also guides the content for the NJCA’s annual Policy Forum, Fall Leadership Summit and the Association’s Statement of Work for the following year.