It's the Little Things

This is Justin, a student in our Next Level program. Today Justin had an interview at Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches.

One thing we try to teach our students is how to interview appropriately.

But we don't stop there. We test them on their skills by running mock interviews. Then we make sure they have the proper clothing.

For women, that means signing them up for an appointment at Dress for Success, where volunteers fit them with lovely outfits (including full suits, shoes, handbag, and jewelry!) assembled from gently-used donations.

But there's no local agency like Dress for Success for men's interviewing clothing needs. So we created a closet here and filled it with button-down shirts and dress pants donated by the male friends of Literacy Center West.

But sometimes it takes more than clothes to get ready. So after we helped Justin find the right outfit, we let him borrow a shave kit we keep in-house.

Then we drove him to get a haircut before the interview that we'd arranged for him.

Within an hour, Justin looked like a new man. By next week he'll hear if he got a new job. In the meantime, Justin now has the skills, the clothes and the look to successfully continue putting in applications this weekend.

It really is these little efforts that make the big difference when we're helping disadvantaged young people learn how to enter and advance in the workforce.

Postscript: We're always grateful for your dropped-off donations of men's button-down shirts, dress pants, and dress shoes!

Hard-working students set an example for the next generation

Anthony Skidmore must feel like he hit the jackpot. After months of studying for the GED test, scouring job postings, submitting applications, and dressing for interviews, last week Anthony passed his GED test AND landed a job making $23.50 an hour.

The quiet 21-year-old was all smiles when he came in with his 2-year-old son, Anthony, Jr., or “A.J.,” to see his GED test scores.


Anthony showed his son the GED classroom where “Daddy studied.” He also pointed to his sister’s name on Literacy Center West’s plaque of GED graduates. Anthony’s name will now be posted among those graduates, too. The other GED classroom students will miss him, though – while he studied, Anthony generously took time out to help explain math problems to other students who were struggling.

“It was overall good experience for me,” Anthony said of coming to Literacy Center West. “I had help when I needed it and the teachers here were nice.”

Anthony had left the traditional school system because he was withdrawn to be homeschooled. Unfortunately, like for too many youth, homeschooling didn’t work out for Anthony when he was kicked out of his house.

Now Anthony can finally pursue his goal of going to college, where he’d like to study computer science. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Laura plans to start studying for her GED at Literacy Center West, too.

Lucky A.J. is growing up in a loving, hardworking household that appreciates the value of an education.