The Wyoming Community Foundation has awarded a $5,000 grant to the Meeteetse Youth Employment Program. 



The program allows youth in Meeteetse (pop. 351), to gain work experience within town instead of having to drive 30 miles one-way to Cody because local employers can not afford to hire extra (though much-needed) staff. 



In order to solve this problem, the program pays high school students’ wages while local businesses agree to employ the students, which provides them opportunities to learn common work skills. 



Kandi Bennett, the career counselor for the Meeteetse schools said these “soft skills,” such as communication, organization, and responsibility, are vital as they need to learn them for any job within the community. 



The Meeteetse Youth Employment Program is a win-win situation for all sides. Students get opportunities for work experience they might not otherwise have had, and employers can hire much-needed workers they might not otherwise have been able to afford. Last year they program placed 22 students with 13 employers and has continued to grow. 



The Meeteetse Youth Employment Program is funded through a partnership between the Wyoming Community Foundation, Wyoming Workforce Development Office, and individual donors. 



The grant came from the Working for Wyoming Unrestricted Endowment Fund. Unrestricted endowments like this are crucial to the Community Foundation’s work. As Press Stephens, the development director of the WYCF, explained, “Unrestricted assets and donations to the Community Foundation’s 11 unrestricted Funds are incredibly important because they allow us to evaluate the state’s most pressing issues and give grants to alleviate Wyoming’s ever-changing needs.”

To watch a video about the Meeteetse Youth Employment Program go-to: www.youtube.com/wyomingcf 



The Wyoming Community Foundation is a statewide nonprofit organization with total assets in excess of $48 million. To date in 2009, the Community Foundation awarded more than $1.1 million in grants to nonprofit organizations across Wyoming. The mission of the Wyoming Community Foundation is to connect people who care with causes that matter to build a better Wyoming. Visit www.wycf.org for more info.



Written by Rose J. Muller, WYCF Communications Officer and Office Manager