Pinellas County Job Corps Trainees paint pictures for nursing home residents

Corey Givens, Jr., Pinellas County Job Corps business community liaison, with his 92-year-old great aunt Margie, who is a resident at Boca Ciega Nursing

GULFPORT – Last Friday, Pinellas County Job Corps Center’s nursing instructors visited Boca Ciega Nursing Center and St. Anthony’s Hospital to deliver hand-painted murals for nursing home residents, and thank you gifts for nursing staff, in observation of National Nurses Week.

Both facilities partner with Job Corps to provide job training and placement opportunities for students between the ages of 16-25. Business Community Liaison Corey Givens, Jr. was joined by ODLE Management Group, LLC, the operator of the Pinellas County Job Corps Center, and key members of the campus’ leadership team and nursing students.

Every year, the Pinellas County Job Corps campus serves more than 600 undereducated, underserved young people from Pinellas County and Florida. The Pinellas County Job Corps Center is ranked in the top 10 out of 124 campuses across the country in students earning industry-recognized credentials.

It also touts that nine out of 10 graduates secure jobs, enroll in higher education or enlist in the military upon graduation from Job Corps. In fact, some of the county’s top employers hire Job Corps graduates, including BayCare, Walgreens Pharmacy, Home Depot, City of St. Petersburg and Orthopedic Injury Management.

“Our students have been homebound like the rest of us, and we were trying to think of ways to creatively help our community and say thank you to those nurses working on the front lines fighting COVID-19,” Samuel Kolapo, Pinellas County Job Corps Center director said . “We don’t have a big checkbook, but we do have big hearts. So when this opportunity came up, we knew we had to act on it.”

About Job Corps

Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, Job Corps is the nation’s largest and most successful career technical training and education program for low-income young people ages 16 through 24. Job Corps provides services to more than 60,000 young people each year at 125 centers in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. To learn more about Job Corps, call (800) 733-JOBS or visit Job Corps online at www.jobcorps.gov.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

scroll to top