During these difficult times, we are especially grateful for our Genesys Works community.
We believe it’s more important than ever to uphold our mission by maintaining our students’ income stability and to prioritize the health and safety of our students, partners, staff, and the Twin Cities community. As a member of the Genesys Works community, we want to keep you apprised of our team’s recent efforts:
Social Distancing
Per public health and governmental recommendations, the Genesys Works team has been working remotely to contribute to the safety and health of the Twin Cities community. To that end, we were thrilled with many of our corporate partners’ immediate response to embrace a “work-from-home” option for our young professionals. We are so grateful to partner with workplace supervisors in creating unique ways for our students to continue gaining valuable skills and earnings that they and their families rely on.
Prioritization of Relationships
We highly value our partnerships with companies, high schools, colleges and universities, and other community organizations. Thus, we first and foremost opted for personalized communications with each of these stakeholder groups and individuals. Each of our program participants continues to receive personalized support from their respective program coordinator.
Curriculum Development
While some students are able to continue their technology roles remotely, students with hands-on roles are unable to complete their regularly-assigned tasks. Our team has swiftly developed an exciting new ‘Learn and Earn’ curriculum to continue developing students’ professional and technical skillsets. A stacked industry-recognized credentialing program has also been incorporated into this curriculum.
Event Reassessment
The CIO Luncheon, originally scheduled for April 20th, has been postponed until later in the 2020 calendar year.
While COVID-19 presents considerable challenges, many of our corporate partners have gone above and beyond to ensure students do not go without a paycheck. On behalf of our students and their families, we are truly grateful for their continued support.
At the same time, we also face the reality that many of our students are experiencing considerable financial impact due to the sudden loss of income. With 88% of our students eligible for free or reduced lunch, these funds are integral to many families’ revenue streams, and a sudden loss of income can result in insurmountable challenges.
You have the power to help. With your support, we can ensure that each young professional receives the support they need – now more than ever. Thank you for considering a gift to stand in solidarity with our students at this time.
As always, we are in this together. We are hopeful that when we look back on this time, we will remember a #GWProud community that was more unified than ever before.
With gratitude,
Karen Marben
Executive Director
Genesys Works Twin Cities
