MONTAGUE — About two dozen low-income students will have the chance to learn and work at paid internships this summer with the help of a grant through the Community Action and the Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board.
The deadline is Friday to apply for the program, Summer Jobs & Beyond, which will give youth who are residents of any of the villages of Montague or who are students at Turners Falls High School the opportunity to be placed in local jobs during the summer.
Priority will be given to youth in households with low incomes or other barriers to employment and education, said Holly Kosisky, assistant director of youth programs at Community Action.
“We prioritize youth who have multiple challenges in work and school, that could be income or a disabilities, involvement with the foster care system,” Kosisky said, explaining that the first goal is to get young people work experience.
The younger people are when they start working, the more successful they are in the workplace later in life, Kosisky said.
The Brick House Community Resource Center is hosting an event to help teens and their parents with the application process on Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Parents must sign the application for any teen under the age of 18.
All applicants must be 16 years old or older and entering their junior or senior year of high school.
The program focuses on local businesses engaging the youth from their home communities. Students will be placed at a range of internship sites, including nonprofits and schools.
About five of the students from Turners Falls will be placed at the Brick House to help with downtown cleanup, a downtown mural project, planning and leading a day camp, and program support for the teen center, said Brick House Director of Operations Jared Libby.
The program is free to employers, and students will be paid $10 per hour, which is funded with a two-year grant awarded by the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration.
The program is also open to students and businesses in Orange and Ware.
Ongoing support will be provided for students who need and want further career guidance when they return to high school.
The Brick House is at 24 Third St. in Turners Falls. Teens and employers interested in participating in the program can access the application by going online to: bit.ly/29j7lVe and clicking on the link for the youth application.
Finished applications can be hand-delivered to Community Action Youth Programs at 154 Federal St. in Greenfield or faxed to 413-774-7565.
Questions can be directed to Holly Kosisky, 413-774-7028, ext. 792 or: hkosisky@communityaction.us