Rocky Mount, Va. (July 18th 2019) –The Franklin County Family YMCA and Goodwill teamed up to do improvements to a local playground and give young people valuable work experience. The six week program was a part of Goodwill’s Pre-employment Transition Services and had 5 local high school students work with Y staff to mulch, repair and improve the community playground located near the Y on Technology Drive. Despite the warm temperatures the group was determined to see the project through to completion and were very proud of their accomplishments.

"It was an incredible experience to work with this program and accomplish our goal. Together, we made a difference in our community and bonded through service," says Victoria Brown Branch Director with the YMCA.

Students in the program also have the opportunity to take part in classroom sessions where they learned how to find employment opportunities in their community, perform well in a job interview, and earn an income during the summer by serving local organizations. 

This partnership came about when Goodwill reached out to the community looking for locations for the program to serve. The Y contacted Goodwill to meet and further discuss the opportunity. After a quick meeting they began working towards making the program a reality.

After the success of the program the Y and Goodwill have already started planning for next year’s project and look forward to working together again.