On June 25, 2018 the first ever career seminar was held at Gaston College for local children aging out of foster care in Gaston County and Lincoln County. Centralina Workforce Development Board's NEXTGEN Specialist Solomon McAuley has been involved with the initiative since its early stages. McAuley facilitates the youth engagement portion of the initiatives career awareness events. He also gives input for NextGen.

"Having the opportunity to share some encouraging words along with challenging them to look beyond their “now” and follow their dreams was humbling," said McAuley.

 

The initial event was the first step in educating children on the employment opportunities in their community and helping them navigate appropriate systems to achieve employment. The education was accompanied with real life examples of individuals who came through the foster care system and are now prominent members of our community. The stories shared by panelists resonated with youth in attendance and spurred a productive conversation among the group. The initiative plans on continuing to work with the children who attended the event by facilitating tours of manufacturing facilities and facilitating connections to educational opportunities. 

For more information on the Gaston-Lincoln Foster Care Initiative, contact Veronica Grantham at [email protected] or 828-755-8219.