Chase $40,000 Grant Awarded to Assist Taney and Stone County Students

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 11, 2014

The Taney County Partnership is pleased to announce Taney County high school seniors and the local workforce will now benefit from a $40,000 grant made possible by the JP Morgan Chase foundation. The “Chasing Platinum, Ready to Work” project initiated by the City of Springfield’s Department of Workforce Development and partner agency Alternative Opportunities, Inc. were awarded the grant to provide career readiness testing via ACT’s National Career Readiness (NCRC) program to students in Taney and Stone counties, helping both get closer to Certified Work Ready Community (CWRC) status. Taney County high schools will administer and proctor the ACT WorkKeys Assessment test to seniors either on campus or via the Missouri Career Center’s twelve‐station Mobile Career Center, also providing instruction on work readiness and career exploration.

“We are grateful to be a beneficiary of these funds and proud to collaborate with these regional agencies and the Taney County school districts and businesses that made this possible,” says Jonas
Arjes, Executive Director of Taney County Partnership. “The ‘Chasing Platinum’ program will assist us in fielding a stronger workforce as we continue to compete in a global economy.”

The grant will also allow the Missouri Career Center to upgrade the Mobile Career Center, implement marketing and outreach efforts as well as provide the scholarships for all graduating seniors in the counties to take the NCRC which will give them a credential to be able to enter the workforce. The Chasing Platinum project kicked off with a press conference held on Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at the Chase Card Services regional offices in Springfield, Missouri. Videos of the event and mobile career center can be viewed at http://vimeo.com/sgfcityview/review/114175228/44852785f5.

For more information on the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate, visit www.act.org/certificate.
The Taney County Partnership seeks the involvement of area businesses and individuals to lead the development initiatives of the communities it serves. For more information, please visit contact Jonas Arjes at (417) 334‐4084 ext. 326 or jarjes@taneycountypartnership.com.