Green Works KC – Client Spotlight

by Jan 3, 2018Client Spotlight

Green Works in Kansas City excels at environmental education and workforce development for urban high school students and in creating partnerships that open doors for our students and positively impact their futures.

They educate students about the environment with project-based learning and meaningful service projects. They also provide job skill training, financial literacy and paid summer interships to prepare their students for life after high school. Green Work’s staff and volunteers are always finding new ways to involve their students in educational initiatives in their neighborhoods.

Green Works end goal is to emplower youth to care for the environment, contribute to our economy, and create healthy communities.

 

We asked Kate Corwin, President and Founder of Green Works, a few questions about what compelled her to start this non-profit, eco-friendly organization, and how you can get involved.

Q: How Did Your Organization Get Started?

I started Green Works in the fall of 2007. I wanted to educate young people about the environment and connect them to new and growing career opportunities with sustainable businesses.

Q: How Can People Get Involved in Your Organization and What Do You Need Most From Them? We have a volunteer tab on our website for people who are interested in volunteering. Right now, we’re recruiting mentors for our workforce development program called Excelerate. Adult mentors assist our students in preparing LinkedIn accounts, preparing a master resume, conducting practice interviews and working on professional communication. Each mentor session lasts just an hour. It’s a short-term, but meaningful time committment.   We would like to thank Kate Corwin for chatting with us about the amazing work that Green Works in Kansas City is doing to prepare the youth in our area for the future.
Q: How Are You Collaborating With Other Organizations in KC? We are currently working with Connecting for Good (CFG) to host a digital literacy elective for our students. CFG also installed our new computer lab. We work with a number of environmental and governmental organizations including Mo. Dept. of Conservation, Blue River Watershed Association, Mid America Regional Council and KCMO Water, Solid Waste and Parks Departments. These organizations provide speakers and serve as field trip hosts for our environmental education classes. We have conducted tree planting projects with Heartland Tree Alliance, and environmental surveys of vacant lots with Heartland Conservation Alliance.