Past Success
Before the world was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, we offered several programs for high school students involving sustainability and workforce readiness including entrepreneurship. Covid-19 dramatically changed the employment landscape, and we are no longer able to work with high school students or operate our retail social enterprise store. Regardless, these programs comprise a significant achievement for our small organization and we are proud of the hundreds of young leaders we worked with, the 16,000 hours of internships we funded, and the innovative retail store that provided real-world customer service experience for our students while introducing community members to more sustainable choices.
Sustainable Business Interns
From 2020 – 2023, we involved young adult interns in our social enterprise retail store, The Perennial Bee. Our interns manufactured sustainable products, managed inventory, fulfilled online orders, waited on customers, created window displays and assisted with marketing and signage design. Through this unique opportunity, our interns received first hand experience with how to run a small business in a sustainable way.
Read more about our retail store and what our students said about the program and the impact on their thinking.
“I appreciate that the interns are actively involved in all the decisions for the store. And I love the fact that everything we do is guided by our overarching concern for the environment. I hope to have my own business someday and I have learned so much that will help me!” – Intern
Excelerate Workforce Leadership
For 13 years prior to Covid, we ran a workforce leadership program called Excelerate for 11th and 12th grade students. Students learned and practiced skills including problem solving and communication. They researched careers, created career plans, wrote a resume and developed a LinkedIn profile. They participated in mock practice interviews and job site visits, and every lesson included sustainability at home and the workplace. Students who completed Excelerate were eligible for paid summer work experiences described in the next section.
We have two formal workforce development program evaluations:
2018 Evaluation by Dr. Connie Campbell
2015 Evaluation by Dr. Alexis Petri
Summer Work Experience
For 13 years prior to Covid, students who completed all Excelerate components earned a paid summer work experience aligned with their career goals. Green Works staff arranged the work opportunities and Green Works covered the cost of the student stipends. Over 13 years we funded more than 16,000 hours of paid work experience for our students.
