On Friday, October 22, 2010, in honor of Make A Difference Day, Homestead Job Corps Center and Miami Job Corps Center will be collaborating with Roots In The City, led by Dr. Marvin Dunn, in a beautification service project for the Overtown community.  Roots In The City, Inc., founded in 1994 by historian, author and academic Marvin Dunn, Ph.D. is a nonprofit, community-based organization located in the Overtown neighborhood in the shadow of downtown Miami.

Specifically, 20 students from both Homestead Job Corps and Miami Job Corps Centers will volunteer on October 22, 2010 from 9:30am-12:30pm side by side with the local residents associated with “Roots In The City” along with State Representative Dwight M. Bullard.  It will be a community beautification project of planting gardens, cleaning debris and pulling weeds. “Roots In The City” is an urban farm where local residents of Overtown (Miami, FL) are trained to grow food and train for a career in horticulture.  This year, in an effort to keep with the theme America’s Green Job Corps, Job Corps students and staff are volunteering together in this “Green Activity” to beautify the community while at the same time, helping others. 

Community service is a critical part of the Job Corps experience, which focuses on comprehensive academic, career technical training, and social skills training.  Service allows Job Corps students to give back to their communities, practice what they are learning in Job Corps, and build self-esteem and teamwork.  “Job Corps training also furthers leadership development in our young people, and Make A Difference Day is a great way for our students to build their leadership skills through community service,“ said Anthony Taylor, Homestead Job Corps Center Director.

This year’s Make A Difference Day, the Job Corps’ 12^th year as a national partner, is expected to involve millions of individuals, organizations, and businesses from around the country.  Last year, more than 10,300 Job Corps students and staff across the United States participated in Make A Difference Day projects.  Homestead Job Corps Center and Miami Job Corps Center are proud to be a part of Make A Difference Day this year as well as in the past.  Make A Difference Day was created as a “national day to help others,” and that’s exactly what the two South Florida Job Corps Centers will be doing on October 22.