Thanks to the support of the American Savings Foundation and the Frederick W. Marzahl Memorial Fund, CJR is able to provide a seven-week Work-Based Learning Summer Program for 40 Waterbury boys and girls, ages 13 to 17. Generous grants of $25,000 from the American Savings Foundation and $10,000 from the Frederick W. Marzahl Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee, are funding this program, which includes vocational training in culinary arts, video and media production, horticulture and landscaping, and entrepreneurial skills development. Students also participate in a series of financial literacy classes as part of the experience.
Program intake began the week of June 17, with previously referred students from CJR’s school-based Teen Outreach Program, Success Always Follows Education (SAFE) After-School Program, and several other programs based at its Waterbury Campus and in local middle and high schools.
Referred students began with a standardized application and interview process that included guidance and mentoring in resume development, presentation, interviewing, and employment readiness. After being “hired” to work in one of the four class components, participating students attended an orientation and learned about the program and “workplace” expectations. Orientation was provided for parents as well.
Students in the four vocational class components collaborate on projects while developing specific skill sets relevant to the four job areas. Students “work” Monday through Friday, from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, at CJR’s Waterbury Campus, located at 80 Prospect Street, and started their “work” stipend-paid work experience on June 28. The program will run through Friday, August 2, and will conclude with a celebration luncheon event put on by the four program components that day.
Each of the four study areas associated with the “work” component of the program uses an entrepreneurship model to develop specific “products” associated with culinary arts, media production, and horticulture and landscaping. A fourth entrepreneurial skills development class works with the other program components to market products and develop promotional materials. Students also create crafts, shirts, and other items to market to CJR staff, visitors, and family members as a part of the program.
Young people in the culinary class cater lunches for the students and staff in the funded program. This project component is funded primarily by a grant from the Frederick W. Marzahl Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A, Trustee. The horticulture and landscaping class plants and tends a garden area on the grounds of CJR’s Waterbury campus that includes herbs and vegetables, and participants also work on community beautification projects, including one at the American Legion in Waterbury. Students in the video and media
production class document the activities of the other classes through photography and video, and work on their own class projects.
Field trips related to each class include visits to the Arethusa Farm Dairy in Bantam (Culinary Arts), Apple Cinemas in Waterbury (Video and Media Production), and Bristol Park in Middlebury (Horticulture and Landscaping). An amusement park field trip is planned for the week following the conclusion of the program as an additional reward for students completing the program.
“This work-based learning summer experience for adolescents in Waterbury is critical to the young people we serve in Waterbury,” stated CJR President and CEO Daniel Rezende. “There continues to be a high level of need for educational enrichment, academic and vocational learning experiences, and summer youth employment opportunities,” he noted.
“Everyone can remember the importance of that first summer job. It’s a step toward adulthood and independence and an opportunity to gain real-world work experience,” said Maria Falvo, President and CEO of the American Savings Foundation. “We are proud to partner with CJR on their summer youth employment and education program, and have supported this fun, educational, and safe experience for youth for the past 18 years to help young people prepare for future education pathways and careers.”
The American Savings Foundation is an independent charitable foundation dedicated to strengthening the community by supporting education, human services, and the arts, with special emphasis on the needs of children, youth, and families, through grants to community organizations and college scholarships. Since its inception in 1995, the American Savings Foundation has contributed over $74 million in grants to local nonprofit organizations and in college scholarships to hard-working students in need of financial support.
The Frederick W. Marzahl Memorial Fund was established in 1974 to support and promote quality education, human services, and health care programming for underserved populations in the Woodbury area.
Photos of CJR’s 2024 Work-Based Learning Summer Program are attached. For more information, please contact Hedy Barton, Chief Development Officer (860) 567-9423, extension 1252, or by email: hbarton@cjryouth.org.
Founded in 1904, CJR provides comprehensive education, residential, wellness, and community programs that support the holistic development of young people and their ability to thrive. Approximately 2,100 boys, girls, and families residing in all of Connecticut’s eight counties are served annually at 10 campus, residence, clinic, and office sites, and in a growing number of public schools.
Contact
Hedy Barton, CFRE, Chief Development Officer
CJR
550 Goshen Road, P.O. Box 161
Litchfield, CT 06759
Tel. (860) 567-9423, ext. 1252
Email: hbarton@cjryouth.org
Website: www.cjrimpact.org