“This is the best job I have ever had!”
“This is my dream job!”
WorkWell youth left work on Friday thrilled with their first week of experiences! At Camp Skillz, youth employees ran, danced, and played with young campers, giving them a summer experience to remember. On the Neighborhood Enhancement team youth identified trees and prepared to create an arboretum (tree garden) that will provide an educational experience for families. Still other WorkWell youth tilled soil to grow organic food, and harvested and washed produce in preparation for market! Across the board our youth employees expressed that what they were most excited about was a job they felt had real meaning, and contributed to meeting the needs of others.
The team dynamic with our garden crew has been off the charts fun. Sometimes they don’t even want to take a break! They built a caterpillar tunnel, tilled new beds, pest controlled plants organically, and harvested onions for the market!
On the last day of the week, peer leaders wrote overwhelmingly positive reviews for the youth noting the many ways they took initiative and implemented the skills they have been learning! “Is it ok we are giving almost all of them a positive write up? They all just did so well!” Specifically, WorkWell youth were noted as practicing good communication skills and receiving feedback from supervisors in a receptive, positive way.
Since the program began, the weekly positive write ups and evaluations from peer leaders have always been a high point. Sisters Ayna Sibtain and Ommay Farah work in two different areas of our organization this summer one for neighborhood enhancement and one for camp. Both were highlighted for their work ethic and communication skills by their peer leaders!
We were proud of program participants for putting into practice the training they received on professionalism and respectful communication with superiors in the workplace. Youth learned that being teachable and even welcoming correction will only contribute to their development and confidence in the workplace. Peer leaders were able to identify the many ways their employees implemented these skills, so positive write ups were in abundance!
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