Student Summer Employment Program Invigorates Local Communities
By Kim Moore
Sports Editor

SC Ministry Foundation and the College of Mount St. Joseph have teamed up to create the Student Summer Employment Program, which they hope will have a lasting positive impact on both the local community and the students of the Mount.

It has been two years since the inception of the collaborative efforts between SC Ministry Foundation and the College of Mount St. Joseph to create a summer employment program that not only provides paid work experiences for deserving students, but positively impacts the surrounding community by placing these students at not-for-profit agencies.

At the program’s inception there were just 13 students
placed at 11 organizations. In two short years the program has tripled in size to 40 students and 16 agencies, located mostly in Price Hill, which SC Ministry Foundation hopes to impact by maintaining “a long-term proactive
presence,” as part of their strategic focus to revitalize the area.

Students worked in a variety of positions from accounting, to rolling up their sleeves and constructing wheelchair ramps desperately needed in the community.

“It has been a great partnership,” said Peggy Smith, the program’s director for the Mount. “It’s a quality work experience that students can get for the summer that impacts other’s lives in a positive way, and we find that a lot of students end up staying on with the organization throughout the year.”

The collaboration between the Mount and SC Ministry Foundation encompasses the mission of both entities by providing paid work opportunities to Mount students that enrich them professionally and personally, while providing
much needed services to local non-profit organizations.

Loretta O’Donnell, Student Summer Employment Program manager for SC Ministry Foundation, sees it as an invaluable opportunity that is created for everyone involved.

“It strengthens professional skills and helps students define their career paths, while exposing them to a field they may not normally experience except through volunteer
work.”

For more information on SC Ministry Foundation’s strategic plan to revitalize Price Hill, log on to http://www.scministryfdn.org/strategicfocus.

MSJ student Stephen Wallpe (foreground) and People Working Cooperatively’s Sara Bourgeois (background) work on a wheelchair ramp for a neighborhood resident.


MSJ student Stephen Wallpe constructing a wheelchair ramp for a neighborhood resident through his summer employment with People Working Cooperatively.


MSJ students Juanita Foster (left) and Daviene Hutsell (right) at Price Hill Will, a Community Development Corporation of Price Hill that addresses housing amoung other issues in the neighborhood.


MSJ student Daviene Hutsell (center) with Price Hill Will Director of Community Organizing, Diana Vakharia (left) and Executive Director, Ken Smith (right).


MSJ student Juanita Foster (left) with Matt Strauss, Director of the Price Hill Will Housing Resource Center counseling a Price Hill resident.


"Although most of us would love to volunteer, it’s not often a reality when you have to make an income to help pay for college. This program allows Mount students to gain amazing experience and knowledge while helping the community," –Laura Robison, a Junior Middle Childhood Education major, Teacher’s Aide for the Price Hill Summer School Initiative

"Working for a non-profit organization is a humbling

"This job gave me the opportunity to see the value of and need for nursing homes for the elderly. I used knowledge that I learned to revamp a system for tracking income and expenses by resident. This is a great job experience for students. You may find that it isn’t what you would like for a career. Then again, you may find it to be exactly what you want, like I did." – Jay Wagner, Sophomore Accounting major, Accounting Clerk at Bayley Place.

and eye opening experience. At Price Hill Will and the Price Hill Housing Resource Center, they try to help the community with everything from housing to events for the children. At the end of the day I have a sense of pride that makes me content." –Daviene Hutsell, Senior studying Accounting and Interior Design, Administrative Assistant for Price Hill Will