By Scott Marquardt, Southwest Initiative Foundation
The newest issue of our CONNECT newsletter is all about career pathways. Our feature story has highlights from the vast network of partnerships around our region that are supporting our students in finding meaningful work and our employers in filling their workforce needs so that our economy and communities can thrive.
Choosing what to include was difficult because there is so much happening in career and technical education right now. Something we didn’t have room to cover in the feature that I want to call out are the career exploration events in southwest Minnesota. From IGNITE Your Future in Hutchinson to Southwest Minnesota Career Expo in Worthington and Marshall, thousands of students attend these fun, interactive events that help them “try on” different jobs. It takes hundreds of business, agency and education volunteers working together to pull it off.
Southwest Initiative Foundation (SWIF) is proud to not only be a
sponsor, but also to invest our time to support these events. More
than half our staff are based at the office in Hutchinson, and each year a group volunteers at IGNITE, as well as SWIF Chief Administrative Officer Missy Maiers serving on the event’s steering committee.
I’m grateful for the willingness of our team to mobilize their expertise and relationships to make multi-partner and multi-faceted convenings and projects a success. Career pathways work is not just something we fund. It’s something we at SWIF as an employer – and our staff as community members and even as parents – care deeply about.
As you read this issue’s highlights, know that there are many more efforts underway and take the opportunity to explore what’s happening in your own community.
Read the latest CONNECT stories
Little Explorers Child Care Center
Running a successful child care business takes a mix of empathy, technical skills, and community support. Plus, a great team. Jamie Gillund has it all at Little Explorers Child Care Center in Ghent. It was her lifelong dream to open this business, and soon she’ll be opening a second location.
Small gifts can grow great things
Kevin TeBeest is linked to Southwest Initiative Foundation in about as many ways as one person can be: He’s a loan client, a former board member for our community foundation partner, a past SWIF program participant, and a donor to our funds.
