Students earn a wage while learning about life services

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For the past few months, students at Cloquet High School have been earning money when they attend transitions class, a course which prepares students for life after graduation.

“It’s been kind of cool because we get paid to go,” said junior Kaylee Hamsmith. “But I’ve learned I never want to be a telemarketer.”

The students altogether have made about 200 calls as they’ve been participating in Project C3, which seeks to use a Web site database to link area youth – including those with disabilities – with community resources in the realm of jobs, housing, recreation, transportation and other such services available to them.

“It’s for helping students find what they want to do and how to do it when they finish high school,” Hamsmith. “It connects people with the services that are out there.”

For the project, Cloquet students have been charged with calling colleges, food shelves, medical clinics, recreational centers and employers in St. Louis and Aitkin counties, while students in Esko have researched similar services offered in Carlton County, according to Hamsmith.

If the organizations serve youth, they were asked to complete a survey. The information will be processed and entered into the database, which will be available online in following months. The database Web site is already active for communities in central and southern Minnesota.

Project C3 is a partnership among several Minnesota state agencies and PACER Center, a nonprofit agency serving Minnesota families of children and youth with disabilities. Partners include Pathways to Employment, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, and the Minnesota Department of Education. These organizations have partnered with various agencies, such as Workforce Centers, programs, and schools in south central Minnesota to provide internships to help local youth learn, earn, and participate in community activities.

The goal of Project C3 is to help young adults with and without disabilities prepare for employment or to continue their education after high school, according to their Web site.

For more information, access Project C3 online at www.c3mn.org.

Tags: project, c3, cloquet, esko, students