Westside Community Center Provides Useful Career Training For Students
Oct 05, 2011
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. September 22, 2011-
When Vanessa Carreno learned about the Westside Community Center’s W.E. Pro$per summer program as an eighth grader, she knew it would be helpful in ensuring summer employment. Four years and four summer jobs later, Carreno is thankful she applied for the program.
W.E. Pro$per is a program created by the Westside Community Center which equips youth ages 13-16 for summer employment. It offers boys and girls career training, business ethics and etiquette beginning in the fall and running through the academic school year. At successful completion, students are placed in summer long apprenticeships throughout the city of Bartlesville.
WCC is a member agency of the Bartlesville Regional United Way and strives to unite and uplift the Bartlesville community and its neighbors by contributing to the nurturing, educating and empowerment of its youth. W.E. Pro$per is a program that receives funding from the BRUW, which is currently conducting their annual fundraising campaign.
“This is my fourth year to be involved in W.E. Pro$per. I worked at the Price Tower the first year, got to know the people I worked with,” Carreno said. “I worked in the museum and filed papers; helped put together visitor guides and sent them to members of the Price Tower.”
Prior to their summer internships, W.E. Pro$per apprentices go through 28-32 hours of employment preparedness education through the school-year and upon completion are afforded 100 hours of summer apprenticeship for which they are paid $750.
During her second year, Carreno worked for City Hall, “I enjoyed working with a lot of great people. I filed papers and helped with little projects. I also helped the kids with Walk to School Day 2010 and helped make posters for that day,” said Carreno.
“I really love that W.E. Pro$per allowed me to work with these people because they help set me up for future employment. It gives students the opportunity to meet new people and make new contacts for future jobs,” said Carreno.
Carreno is one of more than 100 youth participants who have been involved in the program since its inception in 2006. “I have seen families who have been historically unlearned about interest-rates, balancing checkbooks and the other fundamentals of prosperity, informed and educated by their children who are part of W.E. Pro$per,” said Morris McCorvey, Executive Director of WCC. “But, I've also seen children who come from relatively privileged homes serve as reminders of the fundamentals of ethics for their families.”
Participants are also educated on saving, investing and property ownership as ways of building wealth. “Our objective is to nurture and grow a strong tax paying middle class where generational poverty has historically prevailed in our community,” said McCorvey.
During Carreno’s last summer as a W.E. Pro$per Apprentice, she worked with the Chamber of Commerce. “I did a lot of traveling around Bartlesville. I took things to City Hall and to hotels in town, made bags for visitors and helped edit their visitor’s guide,” said Carreno. “I learned a lot about tourism and had a great experience there. It’s good to know about Bartlesville and the different things there are to do here.”
Four years as a W.E. Pro$per Apprentice have taught Carreno many things, “The biggest takeaway I learned from W.E. Pro$per was working with different types of people because you never know what to expect and you have to work with different attitudes. W.E. Pro$per has affected my life by teaching me a lot of new things and it also helps to have experience working while allowing you to earn money.”
For more information on how you and/or your organization can participate, or to apply to become a W.E. Pro$per apprentice, contact the Westside Community Center at 918-336-6760.
The Bartlesville Regional United Way’s Annual Campaign is underway. To find out how you can contribute to the Westside Community Center or other member agencies, contact the BRUW office at 918-336-1044, 501 S. Johnston Ste. 550, Bartlesville, OK 74003 or visit www.bartlesvilleuw.org.
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