If you’ve called our phone or walked in our front door within the last year, you’ve undoubtedly met our front desk volunteer Rylee. July 2022 marked her one-year anniversary with us, and just last week she exceeded 370 hours of service. Those two milestones in themselves are something worth celebrating!
Rylee joined us through Kirkwood’s Creating Futures program. Creating Futures is the local Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) youth program. They serve individuals who are 16-24 years old, helping them achieve their goals around the areas of education and employment. Eligibility is determined on an individual bases and focuses on serving those who can benefit from their services due to being low income, having a disability, being homeless, being a young parent, having dropped out of high school and/or are overcoming a criminal record. Those who meet the required eligibility and have a desire to work with them on their goals can participate! Their focus is on experiential learning which they described as, “Giving our participants the opportunity to build on their work experience, explore different careers while learning and earning a paycheck in an environment that gives good feedback and support to being successful is such a reward!”
As Rylee’s time at our front desk is coming to an end, we celebrate her and the work she has put in to further her career. When we first met Rylee she was considering going back to school but hadn’t quite figured out what direction she wanted to head in yet. Now, a year later, Rylee is taking classes at Kirkwood and moving on to CRUSH of Iowa to become a certified peer support specialist.
We’re so proud of Rylee and are excited to see where her career takes her. She described her future goal as, “To be a help in the mental health community and work with people with addiction/recovery.” There is no doubt that, no matter where she goes -with her passion for community service, dedication to justice, and compassion for others - she'll make a profound impact.
If you’re interested in volunteering at our front desk, head over to our volunteer page to fill out the application: www.willisdady.org/volunteer. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions to sierra@willisdady.org!
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