Jackie Solimini sent in the following write-up about Job Corps Day:
The New Haven Job Corps Center celebrated National Job Corps Day with dozens of area businesses, partners, and community organizations. Job Corps participant Alyssa Weeks (pictured) spent the day in Washington DC with U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro.
The U.S. Congress passed a resolution declaring Sept. 23, 2009 “National Job Corps Day” to acknowledge Job Corp’s training of over three million of America’s youth. Job Corps, the largest and most successful academic and vocational training program for economically disadvantaged youth is the only employment and training program funded by U.S. Congress to have reached this milestone.
Celebrations took place at each of the 123 centers in the U.S., and in Washington, D.C. More than 100 Job Corps students from across the country gathered on Capitol Hill to assemble Job Corps informational exhibits and participate in one-day internships with key members of Congress and U.S. Department of Labor officials.
For New Haven’s 45th anniversary, Culinary Arts student and Student Government Vice President Alyssa Weeks traveled to Washington, D.C. where she was invited by U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT- 03) to intern for a day that included attendance at a Capitol Hill hearing and a tour of the Capitol dome. Of her educational experience, Weeks said, “I was so incredibly proud to say I participated in Job Corps, a program that gave me and millions of others a second chance.”
Jackie Solimini, Business and Community Liaison for New Haven, chaperoned student Alyssa Weeks in Washington and added, “The benefit and contribution that the New Haven Job Corps Center brings to our community is immeasurable. Without this center in our area, hundreds of disenfranchised and vulnerable youth would have no opportunity to create a better life for themselves. With a legacy of success spanning four decades, Job Corps is poised to continue delivering results for the nation and the next generation.”