Westchester Children's Association Awarded Grant from The Westchester Bank

The grant will aid WCA in rolling out a public education campaign to encourage young people to develop the attitudes and attributes (soft skills) needed for success at work. WCA is launching this public awareness campaign to coordinate with the county’s READI initiative, led by the Westchester Putnam Workforce Investment Board (WIB).

READI stands for the key workforce attributes that employers seek when hiring: Respect, Enthusiasm, Articulate, Dependable, and Initiative. Using various media, such as public service announcements, posters, and social media, WCA will help young people, especially those in underserved communities, understand the importance of these attributes, and will give young people, families, employers, and youth workers a common language for talking about workplace skills.

“The Westchester Bank is committed to the financial health of our communities,” said John M. Tolomer, President of The Westchester Bank. “We are pleased to support Westchester Children’s Association’s READI initiative that will help educate young people about key workplace skills that they will need to succeed in work and career. Opportunities to learn these skills give youth a strong start on the journey to financial independence.”

WIB has contracted with the Hospitality Resource Group (HRG) to develop a READI training curriculum to be used by community youth programs, primarily local city Youth Bureaus, to teach these attitudes and attributes directly to young people. WCA has already conducted four focus groups with teens to test the ideas, graphics and language that will be used in the campaign and the curriculum. For more information about Westchester Children’s Association, visit www.wca4kids.org. For more information about The Westchester Bank, visit www.thewestchesterbank.com.

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