YOU receives funding to expand Talent Tours
Sally Appleyard Trust awards $20,000 to help connect youth with in-demand careers
Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) recently received a generous grant of $20,000 from the Sally Appleyard Trust. The funding will be used to extend and enhance youth talent tours, which the program uses to connect young people with in-demand careers.
“Part of our goal is to develop the career interests of students involved in YOU,” said Director Karen Carlisle. “We want to connect them to a career they’re passionate about.”
YOU currently takes students on as many as 10 talent tours a year. Tours have been held in such places as American Electric Power, Bronson Methodist Hospital, Borgess, Stryker, Greenleaf Hospitality, and Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. The tours give students a first-hand look at the companies and offer some valuable question and answer time with company leaders.
With the additional funding, Carlisle and her team plan to expand the talent tours in frequency and range. They hope to expose students to life and careers outside the local area.
“We’re thankful to be able to do this on a much larger scale,” Carlisle said. “We plan to take students to multiple places so they can experience multiple career fields, encompassing life in other areas.
The Sally Appleyard Trust was created in memory of former Kalamazoo City Commissioner Sally Appleyard, who passed away in 2010. She was a former middle school teacher at Parchment School District. She loved Kalamazoo, and spent her life serving her community.
For more information about the program, visit YOU on our website.