Community Corner
KidsMatter Sends Youths in the Right Job Direction
Local nonprofit continues to aid in the development of area youth.
Donovan Rowsey was looking for a summer job. The 15-year-old sophomore at Metea Valley High School could have gone from place to place filling out applications, instead he attended the KidsMatter Job Fair.
For Rowsey the fair was a great experience. Never having attended a job fair he didn’t know what to expect, but he was able to take part in mock interviews, spoke with several businesses and landed two interviews.
“I have never formally interviewed for a job and this taught me what I need to know and how to prepare for an interview in order to get a job,” he said. “It was great to take the time to explore the companies and the jobs they have available to learn if it’s a job and company I want to be a part of.”
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The goal of the KidsMatter Job Fair, held in March, was to provide seasonal and summer job opportunities for youths, which is in line with the organization’s mission which is “to educate and encourage people in our community to build developmental assets in youth.”
The most recent job fair attracted 32 employers with 2,500 different job opportunities, according to an official with the job fair. It also attracted 1,600 young people seeking jobs.
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“The purpose of the KidsMatter Job Fair is to provide a unique learning opportunity that significantly increases the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to prepare these young people for employment,” said IdaLynn Wenhold, executive director of KidsMatter. “The Job Fair is the ‘start’ of [the job search] process. Our help stations at the fair work hard to prepare them for the interviews so that they are successful in securing the jobs they pursue.”
The attendance at the Job Fair has doubled since it first started five years ago, but the number of business participants has gone up and down over the years with the fluctuating economy, Wenhold said. Several years ago the fair attracted 52 businesses, in 2010 only 20 attended. That number increased this year, but business participation still was not as high as in prior years.
“We definitely saw the growing momentum of more businesses needing part-time and seasonal employees this year,” Wenhold said.
