Episode 01
The Boys and Girls Club Workforce Readiness Center
Guest: Jake Erickson, Executive Director
About BizCast Greater La Crosse
We bring you news from the business community. From startups to experienced problem solvers, you’ll get in-depth insight on the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Greater La Crosse. Our show is a collaboration between WIZMNews.com and BizNews Greater La Crosse ( GreaterLaCrosse.media ).
Transcript
Jake Erickson 0:00
But we do have kids at the club that are there and have a need to connect. So, that’s what we’re hoping that space will provide technology, meeting space, some skills trades area, the possibilities are really endless.
Vicki Markussen 0:16
Welcome to Greater La Crosse Biz-Cast, news from the business community. I’m your host, Vicki Markussen. As the labor market continues to get tighter, local businesses are trying to find new ways to get local people into local jobs. Joining me today is Jake Erickson, CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater La Crosse, one of the things that our community doesn’t realize, Jake, is how engaged you are in that next step for many of the students that you serve. So talk about how did you identify this need of connecting students into their future life at the Boys and Girls Club.
Jake Erickson 0:53
We’re fortunate in this La Crosse Area to have eight Boys and Girls Clubs serving 4000 kids on an annual basis, we’re seeing kids of all backgrounds, kids that maybe have a ton of support at home, and other kids that maybe that support is lacking a little bit. This initiative, especially of creating pathways for kids directly into the workforce right out of high school, or helping them get a job in high school is definitely a void that needs to be filled for a lot of kids in this community, you know, recognizing that there are shortages right now, and our community needs good people. We need to raise good kids and keep them in our community. We’re helping fill that role for a lot of our boys and girls club kids.
Vicki Markussen 1:35
So, how did you get started?
Jake Erickson 1:37
Well, we got started with recognizing that kids needed an opportunity to get a first job. They needed some skills on how to interview and how to fill out a resume and just kind of some of that parenting stuff that. Fortunately, for my kids and other kids that, you know, obviously we know, we are the ones doing that at home. And a lot of our boys and girls club kids, they’re coming to our club on a daily basis to connect with adult role models. So, part of our job is to make sure that they’re successful in their personal lives to so identifying that kids just need that extra help to get a job. That’s how this started many years ago with what we call our career launch program.
Vicki Markussen 2:19
So off of that career launch program, you have the “Be Great. Graduate” and other programs. Can you talk about how this has moved forward?
Jake Erickson 2:28
I mean, really, it’s wraparound services for kids. So, I look at what we’re doing in our Academic Success program. We have full-time employees and local high schools that are serving as graduation specialists helping the school districts, teachers, families to make sure that we get these kids in a pathway to graduation. And that could be just filling basic needs. Why are they not getting to school on time? Is it a transportation issue? Could it be supplies? Could it be some mental health needs that need to be addressed, just to make sure that kids are getting to school, they’re feeling comfortable, and they’re successful. So we have full-time employees in the school that are helping make that happen. Besides that, our career launch program, which is happening in our after school program in our summer program. And again, that’s helping kids with job placement in our community. But the next step needs to be helping them towards a career if a two-year or four-year school is not in their immediate future, right out of high school is what can we do as an organization to make sure that they are prepared for a potential career right out of high school?
Vicki Markussen 3:38
Absolutely. And so that got you interested in the workforce readiness center?
Jake Erickson 3:43
Yeah, fortunately, at our Northside, Terry Erickson Boys and Girls Club, we’ve got a little bit of space left. We’ve got about 8000 square feet of space, where we would like to put on a workforce readiness center. And that workforce readiness center would be an opportunity for collaborations in this community, other workforce type of programs, initiatives that are happening, to come into our space with our kids help with some career exploration – help with some career days. No way are we trying to recreate the wheel because there’s a lot of great programs that are out there. But we do have kids at the club that are there and have a need to connect. So, that’s what we’re hoping that space will provide technology, meeting space, some skills trades area, the possibilities are really endless. So, thanks to some potential ARPA dollars through the County, some federal earmark dollars through Congressman Kind’s office. We’re hoping to make this project happen in 2023.
Vicki Markussen 4:45
And you were saying that there are some models out there that BGC nationwide or national BGC is working on this how are those resources being pulled in? What are those resources? What does success look like in other communities?
Jake Erickson 4:58
Yeah, it really varies. There’s not a lot of Boys & Girls clubs that have built center. There is one in Dane County that is turning out to be a real successful modeling campaign for them. And so we really would like to have that physical space. The programming is happening, but what you can do with that space and, and build it on what kids needs are and make it fun and attractive, that’s what our goal is. Boys and Girls Clubs of America has a lot of really important initiatives around academic success and character and leadership and fine arts and, and just a lot of services for kids. But this workforce readiness is becoming a main pillar. What Boys and Girls Club of America is trying to do is to help support kids. It’s around our number one goal. Our mission is to help create these great futures for kids. Having a safe place for them having a place where they can get a meal and be supported, that’s a really good start, but then get helping them get out in the community to be successful community members in our local businesses, that is the ultimate goal. And that’s how we’re gonna measure our success.
Vicki Markussen 6:13
Now, have you seen this embraced by students by the kids?
Jake Erickson 6:17
Oh, it’s exciting. I mean, we did a couple of great field trips this summer, where we got out into the community at places like Brennan Marine, the kids got to get on the tugboat, and see what was going on there and in the yard where they’re doing welding. One of the really cool things is underwater welding. We got a chance to see a young lady who works for Brennan do some underwater welding. For our young people, especially our young girls, to see that person and know that could be a future for them, that they get paid really well to do and can give you a good life. Those are the type of things that we’re trying to do in the community is get kids out, at work at jobs, at places like some of our local banks, really, it’s endless. If there’s an opportunity, if someone’s interested in bringing Boys and Girls Club kids into their business and show them around, we will be there.
Vicki Markussen 7:22
How else can the community help you?
Jake Erickson 7:24
The community can certainly help. We are funded privately. All of our clubs are successful, all of our programs are successful, because of the support of the community. So financial support, we will be running a campaign at some point to help raise money for this summer or for this project and really focus on sustainability too. But the other piece is that mentor piece. We have a lot of great leaders, we have a lot of great people in this community. To come in and help provide support for kids, and to make sure that they’re going to be successful graduating from our program, graduating from one of our high schools, or even our great universities, those aren’t good steps. But that mentoring piece, that extra support that a lot of our kids need, we could definitely use support in that.
Vicki Markussen 8:14
Absolutely. Jake, my last question for you, what makes you passionate about what you do?
Jake Erickson 8:19
What makes me passionate is our success stories – when I see someone who’s grown up at the Boys and Girls Club, and and they have a successful life. That can mean a number of things. They come back to our club and, and they thank the Boys and Girls Club. Even in some situations I’ve even thanked me for, for what I did for them and their childhood and, and really helped create a good life for them, that is extremely valuable. That’s why we’re passionate about what we do. That impact of maybe saving a kid’s life or changing a kid’s life. That’s something that’ll get you up early every morning and get you excited to go to work for.
Vicki Markussen 8:59
Thanks for joining us. You’re listening to BizCast – business news from the local community.
