The Connecticut Junior Republic’s Waterbury Program is providing a six-week work-based learning summer program for 30 at-risk and disadvantaged boys and girls, through a grant of $26,550 from the American Savings Foundation. The program includes vocational training in culinary arts, video production, and horticulture and landscaping. Participating boys and girls attend the program Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and work in one of the three study areas.
All students began the program with a standardized application and interview process for various positions to learn skills in resume development, interviewing and employment readiness. Each of the three study areas will utilize an entrepreneurship model to develop specific “products” associated with culinary arts, video production and horticulture and landscaping. Assigned teams work together on projects and develop specific skill sets relevant to the three job areas. Students are paid stipends for their participation in the program.
Youngsters in the culinary class are catering lunches for CJR programs, other non-profit organizations and local schools. They also catered luncheon for approximately 200 guests at the Connecticut Junior Republic as a part of the 2010 Open House Day Tour of Litchfield earlier this month. The horticulture and landscaping class has created a flower and vegetable garden on the grounds of the Junior Republic’s Waterbury facility at 80 Prospect Street, and produce will be donated to local soup kitchens and non-profit organizations. The class is also working in the community on beautification projects. The video class is producing two public service announcements that will focus on reducing teen violence and on increasing self-esteem. These will be aired on Channel 16. The class will also create a poster and a DVD that students can share with family, friends and their schools.
The American Savings Foundation also awarded CJR an additional 2010 grant of $3,820 to provide a summer work experience for an American Savings Foundation Scholarship recipient. This grant enabled CJR to hire Kenneth Roberts, a Bryant College student who resides in Higganum, Connecticut, as a Summer Program Assistant.
Mr. Robert’s responsibilities involve working with students as a part of CJR’s work-based learning summer program, and he is assisting CJR’s teen participants in creating a magazine on various careers. In his application, Mr. Roberts expressed a particular interest in working with non-profits and social service organizations. “This summer I wanted to work on a meaningful project,” he explained. “I wanted to get involved in projects where I can both learn and make a difference,” he stated. Mr. Roberts is majoring in business administration with a concentration in marketing in his studies at Bryant College.
John F. Boyd, executive director of the Connecticut Junior Republic, expressed gratitude to the American Savings Foundation for its generous grant and past support of the CJR Waterbury Program. “The Junior Republic is honored by the American Savings Foundation’s continued support of our efforts to help the region’s young people,” he stated. “This program serves high-risk adolescents who are associated with our Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program through a highly-structured, strength-based summer program which will help youth develop skills in the areas of culinary arts training, video production and computer technology, and in horticulture and landscaping,” he noted.
The program will culminate in an event on Friday, August 6, at 12:00 PM, showcasing student work, including a catered luncheon prepared by students participating in the culinary arts component of the program. Friends and family of CJR students will be invited to the program, as well as officials from the Department of Social Services (DSS), which funds the Teen Pregnancy Program, and representatives from other agencies associated with CJR programs in Waterbury.
Mr. Boyd noted that the American Savings Foundation’s past involvement has provided critical funding for a number of projects and programs at CJR’s Waterbury program. In prior years, grants have funded a similar work-based learning summer program; extensive renovations of the CJR Waterbury Program kitchen to benefit the vocational culinary program; the refurbishment of the gymnasium; vans for student transportation; the operation of summer programs; as well as computers, recreational equipment, and holiday gifts for students associated with the Connecticut Junior Republic’s Waterbury Program.
“The Connecticut Junior Republic shares the American Savings Foundation’s central focus – commitment to children, youth and families,” stated Foundation President David Davison. “The CJR Waterbury Program provides a broad scope of services for children who are referred by the juvenile courts, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Social Services, and local schools, to address substance abuse problems, sexual abuse and trauma, gender specific issues for girls, teen responsibility and pregnancy prevention, learning disabilities, abuse, neglect and troubled relationships in families,” he continued.
“The American Savings Foundation’s grants are representative of our lasting commitment to the region’s children and our belief in the Junior Republic’s services, all of which are directed toward helping at-risk and troubled youngsters become constructive members of society so they can lead fulfilled and productive lives,” said Mr. Davison. “We are delighted that one of our summer interns is involved in this program and will gain valuable experience in working in a not-for-profit organization with at-risk children,” he stated.
The American Savings Foundation is a permanent charitable endowment which provides grants to local nonprofit organizations, and college scholarships to area students. Since its inception in 1995 the foundation has contributed over $28.7 million in total grants and scholarships in its 64-town service area.
According to CJR Director of Programs, Daniel Rezende, the Junior Republic operates approximately 10 programs in Waterbury. Services include early intervention for behavioral problems, mentoring for young children, residential crisis care for girls, substance abuse prevention, assessment and treatment programs, education programs for children with learning disabilities; pregnancy prevention and work-based learning summer programs, intensive in-home counseling and therapy for troubled boys and girls and their families, and counseling and case monitoring for referred youngsters and their families through its Family Support Center. CJR’s combined programs in Waterbury serve more than 700 boys, girls and families annually.
Founded in 1904, the Connecticut Junior Republic (CJR) has provided residential and community-based care, treatment and education for troubled and at-risk young people for more than 100 years. Today, the organization’s combined programs serve approximately 1,000 boys and girls from communities throughout Connecticut. CJR operates group homes for boys in East Hartford and Winchester, a short-term residential program for girls in Waterbury, and community-based programs serving boys and girls in the Danbury, Torrington/Northwest Connecticut and Greater Waterbury regions. Special, alternative and vocational education programs, as well as transition and related services, are provided for boys on CJR’s Litchfield campus. A new residential program, serving 24 to 32 young men annually, will open on the Junior Republic’s Litchfield campus in autumn of 2010.
A private charitable organization, the Connecticut Junior Republic is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA). CJR is supported by contributions from individuals, businesses and organizations, and through service contracts funded by the Court Support Services Division (CSSD) of the Connecticut Judicial Branch, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS), and by Connecticut’s public schools. For further information, please contact Hedy Barton, Director of Development and Public Relations (860) 567-9423, extension 252; or by email: hbarton@cjryouth.org.
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