Employment program ends with picnic

August 24, 2007, By Mark Boshnack-Staff Writer

The wrap-up picnic for the CDO Workforce summer youth employment program was held Thursday at Neahwa Park.

The state and federally funded program provides employment for income-eligible youth, ages 14-20, in Otsego County. There were 73 employed by the program this summer, said Chenango Delaware Otsego Workforce executive director Kevin Price.

The program provided the paychecks for participants, who started in July, and a variety of agencies and businesses provided a meaningful work experience, Price said.

Participating employers included Staffin Auto Supply, Worcester Central School, the Oneonta Police Department and Label Shopper, said youth program services coordinator Penny Seeger.

"We try to find what the kids are interested in and find a good placement," she said.

Some of the participants at Thursday’s event said the program provided them with a valuable experience. This was true for Anesh Doyle, 15, of Oneonta, who said her stint at the front desk and in the office of CDO Workforce in Oneonta was her first job. "It was fun," she said. "It teaches you responsibility."

If she wasn’t involved with this, she said, she didn’t know what she would have been doing this summer.

Seventeen-year-old John Keegan, of Oneonta, just finished his second year doing office work at The Daily Star, he said. "I’ve learned to socialize with people in a professional environment,"

Kimberly Clark, 15, had her first job working at the Oneonta YMCA day-care center.

"It helped me with my goals, because I want to work with kids when I get older," she said.

There were also employers at the picnic. Laurene Reichardt, disabilities program manger at the Catskill Center for Independence, represented the organization.

"It was great," she said, because with a small staff, there are always jobs to offer, such as data entry and filing.

While CDO paid the employee, he went through the regular training, Reichhardt said. "It was a great experience."

The youth employment program is developing next year’s opportunities. Employers looking for more information may call Price at 432-4800, ext. 118.