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YOUTH PROGRAM GETS THUMBS UP FROM ALL SIDES

By Erin France/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Friday, July 3, 2009 11:29 PM CDT

Forget cutting the grass or washing the dog for a few dollars; some Pine Bluff students are finding a paycheck and valuable work experience through the city of Pine Bluff’s summer youth program.

Amber Whitfield works in the Pine Bluff City Collectors office where she was a student worker last year as part of the city’s Summer Youth Program. Pine Bluff Commercial/Ralph Fitzgerald

For Ashley Thomas, a senior at Pine Bluff High School, this is her second year in the program.

“I heard about it last year from the kids at school,” she said.

The first year, she said she worked at the Davis Life Care Center, with duties similar to that of a social worker.

“That’s what I’m thinking about majoring in,” Thomas said.

Still, she said she likes this year’s work in the city collector’s office as well.

Her duties include adding up fines and answering the phone, she said.

Thomas said she plans to get her hair braided with her first check and pay for some new accessories.

Future checks will have a different destination, she added.

“The other ones, I’m going to start saving,” she said.

Connie Jackson, the senior youth coordinator, said she’s heard positive feedback from students, employers and parents.

The program is serving 100 students this summer, Jackson said. In 2008, the program had positions for 88 students; in 2007, there were more than 50 students involved, she said.

Jackson said there are 36 sites participating in the summer youth work program, everything from doctor’s offices to the city’s maintenance department to the local courts.

“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from all the sites,” she said.

One student is working with hot checks, Jackson said, and another is going to observe a hysterectomy.

“They get hands-on experience,” she said.

Jackson said the summer youth work program has helped students focus on a goal during the year.

She said a male student with a history of acting out was hired to work with maintenance one year.

“The next year, he was a model student,” she said.

In March, Jackson said he started calling and asking for an application to participate in the summer youth work program again.

Sometimes the summer jobs lead to more, she added.

Amber Whitfield is a sophomore at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and she works in the city collector’s office.

She was first placed in the office as a summer youth worker, she said.

“It went very well,” she said.

Later, she contacted city collector Albert Ridgell to see if there was a more permanent position open, she said.

“He allowed me to come back,” Whitfield said.

Many of the youth coordinators have good stories to tell about their students, but Cle’Etta McCray added a note that might apply to any section of the summer youth program — student, employer, parent or coordinator.

“I’m satisfied, because they’re satisfied.”

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