School offers one-stop job-shop service

Published 3:05 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

DUVALL — All around the Lower Valley teens were letting out a

corporate complaint: “We don’t have any money!” That was until the

Lower Valley Youth Programs (LVYP) launched the Teen Job Bank last

fall to help match local businesses and residents with available youths.

“I’ve been working with youth for a long time and I hear over and

over, `I need a job’ and `I need to earn some money,'” said Lorry Kaye, the

job bank coordinator. “Teen Northshore had a successful program and

I thought we can do that, too.”

The Teen Job Bank is dedicated to helping teens 18-years-old and

under find temporary and permanent employment in the Valley. One of

Kaye’s goals is to become the premier job source for employers and

potential employees in the Lower Valley by the spring.

“One of the best ways to keep kids out of trouble is to keep them

busy,” Kaye said.

So far the Teen Job Bank has about a dozen students and four

companies in its database.

While Kaye understands that it usually takes awhile for any new

program to form strong roots in the community, she and several volunteers

are doing all they can to promote the service.

Representatives have met with the Carnation and Duvall chambers

of commerce, parent groups and city officials in hopes that the Teen Job

Bank would become a part of the community’s everyday vocabulary.

Dr. Gary Rutledge of Duvall saw one of the group’s presentations

and decided to give the job bank a try. The chiropractor wanted to clear out

some brush near his office and called Kaye for referrals. In several days,

Rutledge had a pool of applicants to choose from and hired four workers for

the day.

“It’s so tough to find kids that want to work,” he said. “Lorry has got

a good thing down there.”

“It’s something that’s needed in our area,” Rutledge added.

Jordan Backman, an eighth-grade student at Tolt Middle School, was

one of the teens that Rutledge hired and she too was impressed with the

job bank.

“I signed up and the first week I got a job,” she said. “It was

like, `Wow!’ I thought I’d have to wait a month.”

Backman said she was pleased that she could earn extra money

after working for only several hours. In fact, she said it would be hard for her

to commit to a regular part-time job because of her busy schedule.

To participate in the free program, teens must fill out an

application through the LVYP office. In the meantime, employers — including

businesses who need steady part-time employees and residents who

might need only one project done — can call the job bank to advertise their

job openings.

When a job that matches a particular youth’s skills and interests

becomes available, the teen is notified by phone or mail. It is then the teen’s

responsibility to contact the employer for an interview.

Hopefully by the summer, Kaye said, the job bank will be able to

host several workshops for teens including resume writing, interviewing

skills and filling out applications.

For more information or to sign up for the Teen Job Bank, call (425)

788-6716.