A new program at the Community Center is helping teens prepare for their futures in more ways than one. The REACH Teen Workforce Development Program exists to develop Christian character and success tools within teenagers in the Harrisburg community in order to assist them in successfully gaining workforce & leadership skills for life and work.

There are two main value points of our Workforce Development Program: 

• The first is that it provides teens with the opportunity to acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes that result in improved work performance, gainful employment, development around PA Future Ready Standards and, most importantly, the courage to live out their faith not only in life, but also in the workplace.
• The second is that it provides employers with an effective method to communicate, share, and meet their demand for skills.

This Program is a PATHWAY workforce development experience that engages Community Center teens through discipleship, project-based learning, and paid internships for the purpose of fulfilling the Community Center’s vision of being a youth-led facility and reaching teens through prayer, caring, and sharing the Good News of Christ.  A Pathway Program seeks to put a cohort of learners on a trajectory of growth that builds upon a range of activities, projects, and other discipleship approaches over a set period of time through what we call “Learning Phases.” 

Our first cohort began the program in summer 2020. In Phase 1, they learned about the job interview process. All of the students completed professional resumes, statements of faith, mock interviews, and most of the students returned for Phase 2 in fall 2020.

One student said her new resume she put together during the program helped her to get 5 interviews and 3 job offers so far! She accepted two of the part-time positions.

Another student’s mother contacted us in amazement because her daughter was interviewed by Abc27 News during a camp and was so confident and communicated with professionalism.  She credited our program for her daughter being able to interview the way that she did!

We interviewed a few of the students during our Giving Tuesday Facebook Lives on December 1, 2020.  They did a great job talking about the program and their experiences and opportunities they’ve had because of it! The videos are still available on our Facebook page if you’d like to watch for yourself.

We look forward to more success stories as the students move through the remaining phases of the program and eventually graduate on to college, workforce, and other endeavors.