Bradford Area High School Career Awareness and Workplace Readiness Program (Who: Tracy Burgess, Katie Cunningham, Tyler Hannah, Stephanie Huber, and Dan Palmer) Many employers today now question whether or not high school provided their employees with sufficient basic skills, such as grammar, spelling, writing, and basic math skills. The Bradford Area High School Career Awareness and Workplace Readiness Program is designed to promote career readiness and financial responsibility. By following the frame work for this program, students develop effective communication, time management, technical, and analytical skills. Students learn to collaborate in real-world business scenarios and to prepare for college through special events, job shadowing, and mentoring by local business leaders during this four-year program that supplements their core curriculum during grades 9-12. 
Bradford Ecumenical Home, Inc. Residents on the Go! (Who: Lisa Minich, Erin Waugaman, Mike Montecalvo, Jesse Noga, and Jessica Whiteman) On average, the residents at The Bradford Ecumenical Home, Inc. have over 500 transportation needs each year. Up until this project, they relied entirely on family members and the services provided by the Area Transportation Authority to meet all of their transportation needs. The group members who developed project “Residents on the Go!” were able to assist in fundraising over $22,800 toward the $30,000 goal, and because of their efforts, the new van was purchased and is now in use at the Bradford Ecumenical Home. 
Junior Achievement Financial Literacy Program (Who: Brandon Means, Dan Minich, Anita Danielson, and Pat Vigliotta) Children learn to handle their finances by interacting with and watching their parents, but many children remain oblivious to the “behind the scenes” financial workings of their families and begin to pay attention only after they are out on their own. To help young adults get off on a better financial foot at an earlier age, the group proposed a Junior Achievement Financial Literacy Program. The frame work of this program is constructed to provide post-financial crisis and current economy-based education to the youth of McKean County. Through research and personal experience, the group working on this project outlined the necessary steps for financial literacy to be advocated and fund-raised for and then specifically developed in each participating school district. |
The Bradford Book-Share Project (Who: Ryan Baxter, Guy Bennett, Cara Costik, Tracee Howell, and Kitzie Pingie) Regularly reading to a child can have many benefits to the academic success of the child and for the strength of the family unit, but there is a third benefit that is often overlooked: Literacy leads to leadership! A better reader means a better Bradford. The mission of the Bradford Book-Share Project is to provide free children’s books throughout the city, encourage the community to “Share the GIFT of Reading,” and create a long-lasting and sustainable outreach program for the Bradford Area Public Library. The group solicited employers and community organizations for children’s books and, as a result, collected 1,000 books to place at various locations around Bradford, where parents can take and drop off gently-used children’s books to help share the gift of reading with their community. 
Volunteer McKean (Who: Rick Brocius, Jodi Meabon, Jenna Prechtl, Matt Splain, and Todd Witchen) There is no end to the volunteer opportunities in McKean County, but matching the willing volunteer to the right project is often a challenge. To solve that problem, this group fundraised for and then constructed Volunteer McKean, a Facebook page where individuals and businesses who need help at their events can submit a request that then goes out to every volunteer who “liked” the Facebook page. They advertised all over the county through different media, promoting the message and idea of Volunteer McKean and soliciting requests. The Facebook page is now up and running and to date, has over 250 “likes.” |
