The Franklin Initiative is very lucky to have sponsors and donors that value the role of education in the business community. However, without all the help we receive from community volunteers none of our fantastic programs would be possible.

During this busy time of year, we rely heavily on our dedicated group of volunteers who assist us in implementing our programs and events.  Our volunteers come to us with many areas of expertise and help us provide Monroe County students with a variety of creative educational opportunities that otherwise might not be available to them.

This month we are busy gearing up for several events during the months of April and May.  Last week, we held our first event in April, a Reality Store for all of the eighth grade students at Jackson Creek Middle School. Reality stores are one of our flagship programs that we run. They introduce students to the real world by simulating what it is like to get a job, have a family, and then budget for all of their needs with an income that is based on their current GPAs.

This week we will administer WorkKeys testing at Bloomington South High School in anticipation of our Employment Fair at the end of the month. WorkKeys is a nationally recognized job skills assessment system that measures real-world skills. Many employers at our Employment Fair and in town use WorkKeys as a tool to evaluate prospective employees.

The Franklin Initiative’s schedule will not slow down in May.  In mid-May we will hold our last Reality Store of the school year at Batchelor Middle School.  In addition, during the month of May we will partner with New Tech High School to arrange Mock Interviews for each student in the freshman class.  Then, at the end of the month, we will again partner with New Tech High School to secure Job Shadow placements for each freshman student.

For each of these programs to be successful, we rely on volunteers to help lead the programs at the school and welcome students into their workplaces. All of our volunteers deserve much more recognition than we are sometimes able to convey.  Without their valuable contributions our programs wouldn’t be nearly as effective.  We are deeply appreciative of all that they do!