Ready to work

A class of 16 teenagers marks completion of a Teen Services Sonoma summer Work Readiness Certification course at The Club in Maxwell Village. Funded by a Community Grant from Impact100 Sonoma, the program teaches skills needed to enter the job market: the application and hiring process, money management, and customer service; writing a resume; and mock job interviews with local business professionals.

The graduates: Jake Brown, Cobi Cabrera, Alexis Castillo, Areianna Chabot, Edgar Estrada Cruz, Atticus Earnest, Marc Anthony Hernandez, Dylan Herrick, Lyndsey Lee, Evelyn Martinez, Owen Miller, Karen Moya, Theresa Perez, Juan Pimienta, Areli Rojas, and Marcial Rojas. The students received real-world advice from a number of local professionals in diverse fields.

They interacted with Sonoma Valley business leaders Lani Parker, of Bolt Staffing, Josh Gruenhagen from Safeway, Mei Ibach from Lovin’ Oven, Sarah Barton from Cline Cellars, Eric Gonzalez from Boys & Girls Clubs, and Jose Hernandez-Gomez from Parkpoint Health Club.

Each has been assigned a personal job coach who will assist them through the job search and placement process and will continue to support them for the first 90 days of employment. Volunteer job coaches are Barry Ansell, Manny Bazan, Sandy Drew, Chriss Fife, Amy Gill, and Debby Kweller.