The Cleveland Indians and OhioGuidestone Team Together

Written by Savannah Heck

OhioGuidestone Workforce 360°

In the last year, OhioGuidestone provided thousands of individuals and youth across Ohio with Workforce 360°, a program teaching valuable job training sills and preparing students for a life out of poverty. These programs develop students for exiting careers in construction, healthcare, hospitality, and other training tracks based on individual interest. Workforce 360° also assists students in completing their GED or high school degree.

OhioGuidestone CEO Rich Frank said, “Our combination of job and resource training helps youth design a plan for their lives and make lasting changes,” he continued, “we’ve dedicated time to this program because it works.” Over the past 18 years, we have stood by the side of graduates, guided them through interviews, and helped them reach goals. We accomplish all of this with our community partners such as The Cleveland Indians.

OhioGuidestone Accepts The Cleveland Indians’ Larry Doby Youth Fund Award

The Cleveland Indian’s Larry Doby Youth fund recently presented OhioGuidestone with a grant to help youth in Cleveland. The Cleveland Indians created the Larry Doby Youth Fund to combat youth violence, and OhioGuidestone built Workforce 360° to show students the opportunities they have access to with hard work. OhioGuidestone Board Member and The Cleveland Indians’ Senior Director of Communications, Curtis Danburg, made a connection between the two programs.

“the Indians organization knows the positive impact that Workforce 360° and OhioGuidestone has in our community, and we felt it was important to help further this work,” said Danburg. The resources we identify dictate the choices we make. To students living in poverty, realizing that they have resources makes the difference between a positive path in life and a negative one. That’s why OhioGuidestone and The Cleveland Indian’s Larry Doby Youth Fund teamed together to bring the R Rules and youth mentoring to students in Cleveland high schools.

“Resources = Choices: the R Rules Curriculum”

The R Rules curriculum changes the way that students view their future. It creates a sense of self-sufficiency in students and shows them their potential. Based off the nationally recognized “Bridges out of Poverty” strategy, it breaks down methods to success. The students learn how resources are gathered and maintained, and understand that resources equal choices. The more resources available to someone, the more choices they are able to make. These rules help them understand how to achieve their goals. Students pair with mentors who believe in their ability to succeed. The life changing R Rules class is offered in schools as a for credit class, allowing students to get closer to graduation.

With support from the Ohio Department of Education, OhioGuidestone’s Workforce 360° brought R Rules training to students living in poverty throughout the state. Thanks to the Cleveland Foundation and the Larry Doby Youth Fund, “we are increasing access to our R Rules curriculum to help students establish goals and plan for their future,” said R Rules Program Manager Jennifer Hedinger. The expanded impact of our R Rules training will positively affect our community for generations to come.

 

For more information about Workforce 360° or R Rules training, please contact Kiersten Watkins, Director of Workforce Development Programs at 440.234.2006 or at Kiersten.Watkins@OhioGuidestone.org.