Americans Helping Americans© is committed to assisting students in distressed Appalachian communities to succeed in school. We support the educational journey of children in elementary school through our afterschool programs, all the way to those completing high school and career and technical school educations.

Want2Work in Kentucky: 

In 2023, we announced the implementation of our Want2Work (W2W) initiative. It was developed to provide career and technical education students with the tools and support they need to pursue their chosen career paths. This includes financial assistance to help cover the costs of expensive mandatory exams and certification fees.

Among our W2W partners is the Lee County Area Technology Center in Beattyville, Kentucky, which serves students in Lee, Owsley, and Wolfe counties seeking careers in the fields of carpentry, electrical, healthcare, welding, and automotive.

This summer, principal Craig Herald reported on the success of several of its students, thanks to the W2W program, telling us that “Americans Helping Americans© allowed the Lee County Area Technology Center to create a mentorship between employers and students to get students on a fast track to their careers. Part of that mentorship was summer employment opportunities.”

For example, he noted that healthcare students received stethoscopes upon completion of their industry certifications and more.

“Americans Helping Americans has allowed these students to be career-ready with scrubs, shoes, and now stethoscopes for these students to take with them as they begin their careers in healthcare fields.  All the healthcare students are currently working in the field or have already been accepted into a post-secondary program.”  Principal Herald reported.

He also reported that the impact of the Americans Helping Americans© Want2Work graphs has spread, telling us that earlier this year grant funding was used to purchase scrubs, shoes, and watches for nurse aide students to begin job-shadowing and working during high school.

“This initiative was so successful that other community partners became involved to assist these students in their careers,” he said.

Hazard Community & Technical College (HCTC) recognized 11 of these students through their career learning initiative, HCTC WORKS! The program offers high school and adult college students opportunities to explore careers through work-based learning.

These students have been job-shadowing or working as apprentices at Juniper Health, Inc., a clinic system serving rural areas of southeastern Kentucky.

The event was also part of HCTC's Going Pro Signing Day event series, which recognizes students entering the workforce in critical areas, including healthcare. The students signed commemorative certificates to represent the significance of entering the workforce.

“When this opportunity came for the students, they already had the scrubs and shoes that had been provided by Americans Helping Americans© at the start of the year.”

Principal Herald also reported that “employer mentorship leads to jobs for students,” telling us that in the fall the LCATC created an employer/student mentorship program with funding from Americans Helping Americans©.

“This mentorship allowed students to connect with employers, tour job sites, and ask questions regarding the types of jobs available,” he reported. “Parents of the students were also included in this mentorship program to allow for a strong support system for the students.

“As the school year came to close, these employers reached back out to our students and offered them high-wage, high-skilled jobs straight out of high school.”

Trades Certifications and Apprenticeships.  For carpentry, welding, and electricity students, he reported that 17 of them took and passed the state Track test for their industry certifications and received honor cords.  They also received one credit in an apprenticeship program.

Americans Helping Americans© also rewarded students who passed their Track welding industry certification with handheld tungsten grinders to allow these students to begin their careers with the tools needed for success. Three of the welding students want a career in welding in the Aerospace field, so they enrolled in The Hobart Welding Institute which has this advanced program.  

In addition, funding from Americans Helping Americans© was used to purchase honor cords that Principal Herald told us “inspired seniors to continue pursuing industry certifications. Knowing they would receive additional honor cords for passing additional industry certifications pushed the students to work harder.”

In total, 57 students received honor cords.  The seniors wore their honor cords proudly at graduation. Other younger students saw the seniors working hard for their honor cords and that caused them to pursue industry certifications earlier in their high school career.

During this quarter, he reported he was able to purchase more advanced tools for the students as they worked to get higher-level certifications.   The certifications can include additional college credits, access to entry-level jobs, and up to one full year of credit in apprentice programs.

This quarter’s funding secured tools based on their trades: sets of cordless construction tools for Carpentry students, cordless impact wrenches for the Advanced Auto students, cordless band saws for the Advanced Electricity students, and statoscopes for the Healthcare trades.

“Many students started to work during high school using these tools, clothing, and shoes given to them by Americans Helping Americans©,” he said. “This turned into full-time employment a few days after graduation.”

Principal Herald commented that the students want to make a living wage.

“The tools and items purchased through the grant have removed a few barriers towards students having the necessary equipment to go to work upon graduation.

“Mentorships are key to preparing students for the workforce. The program has worked for this year's seniors in many cases they had mentors at the company that helped them through the onboarding and hiring process.”

Career Technology Tutoring in West Virginia. 

In McDowell County, West Virginia, Americans Helping Americans© has provided grant support to a tutoring program operated by our partner there, Big Creek People in Action (BCPIA) at the county Career Technology Center (CTC).

One of the tutors reported that following the end of a busy school year helping students with tutoring or class certifications the tutor said they documented the hundreds of work-based learning the students did and helped prepare with the graduation ceremonies.

After working to help students bring up their test scores, the tutor noted that “we have exceeded the state goal for our NOCTI (National Occupational Competency Testing Institute) testing.

“I felt a sense of pride with each student because I contributed in some small way to their accomplishments.”