Piscataquis Jr. Chamber outlines program at FA
DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce developed the Jr. Chamber of Commerce initiative in late 2014, with a primary focus on providing high school students with training and mentoring to prepare them for their future after high school. Training would include successful interview skills, resume building, education about credit and investments, business planning, and more.
The program has aligned students with business owners in the area who are already successful in the fields these young adults wish to pursue, through job shadowing or internships. Most recently, the program also provided support to students through their college application process, from completing financial aid documents to essay-writing tips. The heart of the program was to find out what each student dreams of pursuing and providing them skills and opportunities to overcome real challenges, with the hope they will stay or return to Piscataquis County after successful completion of their education.
“As a chamber, it is vital to provide support to the businesses already in existence- this is expected, however, we are an aging county, and we need to turn our focus to the upcoming generation of leaders,” said Chamber Executive Director Denise Buzzelli, “if we neglect them, we do the entire county an enormous disservice.”
Though the Jr. Chamber program never had an official “launch”, the board of directors has been working to develop meaningful and relevant benefits for students who wish to become members while working with those already in the program. In doing so, it became apparent that there were already organizations within Maine developed specifically to help students in the way the Jr. Chamber program sought to assist. While the Chamber was working from a zero budget and only one employee, these organizations had state funding and staff in place to do the work efficiently and successfully.
It became clear then, that the Jr. Chamber would slightly change its role from providing these services with limited resources, to bringing in the organizations created to provide them on a level the students could better benefit from. Moving forward, the Chamber would be a liaison between the guidance counselors, students and organizations, assisting with referrals and providing accountability to program leaders who many not have been as active in Piscataquis County vs. other counties in the more recent past. Jr. Chamber members would still have the great benefit of training under local business owners and networking in the business community, as the Chamber would continue to advocate for them in this capacity.
To begin this partnership, the Piscataquis Chamber has invited nine organizations to the student assembly at Foxcroft Academy on April 27 at 10:45 a.m. to present their programs to the juniors and seniors. The students will be asked to complete a survey at the close of the event, and answers will be compiled and shared with the organizations present and local, state and federal representatives. The data will include information on student goals, what they see as their greatest barriers to success, what their greatest fears are, and if they plan to stay in Maine after college, just to name a few.
“Ultimately, the purpose of the event is to educate our students about programs they might greatly benefit from, to help provide direction for their lives and skills for their success, and to show them they have options,” Buzzelli said. “Equally as important, we hope to re-engage program leaders to work more closely with Piscataquis County so our students have the best chance to reach their potential. I am confident the data we compile through the surveys will shed some light on what our students need moving forward, and what necessary changes we must make to ensure their success at the local, county, and state levels.”
The assembly will act as a pilot, if it is successful, the Piscataquis Chamber hopes to repeat the event at all high schools throughout the county. Organizations presenting are Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative, Piscataquis Cooperative Extension, EMDC Youth Force Development, Maine Educational Opportunity Center, Jobs for Maine Graduates, UMaine ROTC, Job Corps of Maine, Maine Army National Guard, and Americorp, with several others who have not yet confirmed their participation.
“We want these students to know we care,” Buzzelli said. “We want their parents to know we care. If we can do that, and raise some awareness about what’s out there for them and what we want to do for them, that will be more than enough.”