The Charleston Job Corps Center (CJCC), operating under Horizons Youth Services (HYS), joined Job Corps Centers across the nation to observe Read Across America Day on Thursday, March 2 2017 at Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club, 301 Tennessee Avenue, Charleston WV. Center students will read to children in the Boys & Girls Club after school program.

According to The National Education Association site, www.nea.org, “The National Education Association is building a nation of readers through its signature program, NEA’s Read Across America. Now in its 20th year, this year-round program focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources.”

Students attending the event include Emily Burdette and Desmond Baker accompanied by business community liaison Tia Welch. In addition, the Training Department took fifteen students to the Edgewood Elementary school to reach in classrooms. The center’s Youth-2-Youth (YWY) Campaign against Violence and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) chapter is very active in the local community.

Y2Y (Youth-2-Youth) Campaign is a student-led initiative to prevent violence on Job Corps centers and their local community. If you would like to schedule a presentation by the Y2Y Ambassadors and SADD Chapter for your local school or organization to prevent violence and substance abuse, please contact Tia Welch at (304) 925-3200.

Job Corps is a no-cost education and career technical training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that helps young people ages 16-24 improve the quality of their lives through career technical and academic training. Job Corps is in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The Charleston Job Corps Center is overseen by the Philadelphia Regional Office of Job Corps and is operated by Horizons Youth Services.

Pictured: Desmond Baker with children in the Salvation Army BGC