A Southern California Edison Community Grant, designated for the Tulare City branch of the County Library Read to Succeed literacy program, has been received by the Tulare County Library Foundation.
The grant, *Transforming Tulare,* has the primary focus of assisting young adults in workforce readiness. The participants will be shown how to create employment portfolios and resumes, and given practice in interview skills. Training will be given by Tulare City Chamber of Commerce members who have a history of success in the business world and are currently active in the hiring process for their companies. The chamber panel provides insight to what employers are looking for in the city of Tulare.
A pilot project, coordinated by the Chamber members and Read to Succeed Tulare Literacy Specialist Kim Torrez, is currently underway. After the results of this project are determined, a fully developed program, funded by the grant, will be opened to Read to Succeed students in Tulare City.
According to Mrs. Torrez, Kathleen Johnson, CEO of the Chamber, was very instrumental in getting this program started. "Without Kathleen's amazing knowledge, encouragement and support, we would not have received this much needed grant from Southern California Edison. The Read to Succeed program is very grateful to her and to the Chamber members participating in this project."
Ms. Johnson said, "The Chamber members are very excited about this program. It completely falls in line with our mission of promoting economic opportunities and business prosperity in the city of Tulare. The Chamber panel has been very giving to students in the pilot program, sometimes serving as mentors to them. The enthusiasm of the participants demonstrates to us that the Chamber will indeed be helping to provide a valuable and skilled work force for our city."
