DeMarcus Curry had experience hosting job fairs for the community, but they were mostly geared toward helping adults. Yet, when he noticed the need for teens to get involved in the community, he thought the fair could help a new audience.
The idea originated after he heard families say how their teens often are sitting at home bored and have nothing to do since, and that the kids don’t feel like there’s anything for teenagers to do in town.
So, the teen job fair was born to provide a new sense of experience.
“Not only would it be something as far as working, but they would also be learning to deal with money and getting your own stuff, things that you want with these opportunities,” Curry said.
In March, Curry held his second teen job fair. Once it was over he heard resounding praise from employers and families thanking him for giving the teens something to do during the summer months.
The job fair had local employers such Ben’s Pretzels to regional employers such has Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, plus several in between.
After the turnout of that fair and his previous one in the fall, Curry realized that he could continue to do this at least twice a year — one in the spring and one in the fall.
Curry said the impact of structuring it that way would be twofold. Employers are able to find help during peak employment seasons like the summer and holidays, plus the community is able to find new experiences for their teenagers.
Curry has been able to maintain his connections with employers, and instead of doing a job fair over the summer, he is instead open to providing independent help to connect teens to jobs in the area.
“I’ll let the kids know … to look for jobs so you can spend smart time not just being bored, but also making good money being a young person,” Curry said.
In March, Curry was able to introduce 15-year-old Noah Farmer to his current job at Fetta Specialty Pizza. Farmer said he had already been applying for jobs since November, but never got any responses.
When he was at the fair, Farmer had the chance to talk with several employers, and he said the process prepared him for interviewing for a job. Now that he works at Fetta as a host, he said the experience is preparing him even more for future opportunities.
“One of the big reasons I wanted to get a job, apart from being paid, was because I felt that it would teach me things that I would likely need to use in later life,” Farmer said. “I’d say it is teaching me personal responsibility, teamwork, and how to cooperate with others.”
Knowing that he’s helping teens like Farmer get plugged into the city has been a great feeling for Curry.
“With the violence and things that are going on in our community, I wanted to know let the kids know that there are always other opportunities out here,” he said. “Eventually I want them to get branched out of the state of Kentucky so they can see all the opportunities out there.”
