More than 4,700 people in 23 mountain counties got a chance to earn money and learn job skills during the summer of 2010, thanks to the WorkNow Kentucky summer work initiative administered by Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP). For many of these people, it also offered a chance to start a new chapter in their lives.

Cougar Corner, a convenience store in West Liberty, is one place where the successes of WorkNow Kentucky can be seen.

Cougar Corner manager Rick Barker said it was easy for him decide to volunteer his business as a worksite for WorkNow Kentucky when he was approached by Gateway Community Action Agency because he had had good experiences in the past working with subsidized work programs delivered locally by Gateway under contract with EKCEP.

Barker created jobs at the store for Aaron Jacob Tanner, 18, and Lola Helton, 27. Lola was placed as a clerk, Aaron was placed in a maintenance position, and both “worked out really well,” Barker said.

WorkNow Kentucky placed workers it placed in temporary jobs with real public and private sector employers and paid 100 percent of their wages, using funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

In the 23 eastern Kentucky counties served by EKCEP, 4769 previously unemployed or low-income workers earned more than $12.5 million in wages during WorkNow Kentucky, which ran from June 1 to September 30, 2010. At the program’s end, 543 of these workers were hired into full-time, unsubsidized jobs as a result of WorkNow Kentucky.

In eastern Kentucky, 1,333 employers trained and mentored at least one worker.

Having Aaron available to do maintenance duties at Cougar Corner was so helpful that Barker kept him as a permanent employee after the WorkNow Kentucky program ended.

“I don’t know how we could do without that position now,” Barker said.

Aaron considers himself fortunate to have found WorkNow.

“It’s awful hard to find a job. If you can get one, you’re lucky,” he said.

The income and independence offered by a steady job have been a big benefit to Aaron’s life. He is currently considering his options for attending community college and getting a degree.

Lola said the staff at Gateway made the process quick and easy for her to get enrolled into WorkNow, placed in a job, and begin earning the money she needed to help support her family.

“They help you right away,” she said. “You can get a paycheck quickly.”

Pat Motley, who directed WorkNow for Gateway Community Action, said she was glad the program had such a positive effect on the community and proud of the work her staff had done to place workers in appropriate positions.

“We were glad to be able to help a lot of people,” Motley said.

Jeff Whitehead, executive director of EKCEP, said WorkNow was an eye-opening success for eastern Kentucky.

“We’re very pleased with the number of people who have taken advantage of WorkNow,” Whitehead said. “We’ve heard so many stories of people who have used it as an opportunity to make their lives better and of employers who have used it as a chance to mentor a new generation of workers.

“So often we hear negative stereotypes about this region’s workers. But the enthusiastic response to this program proves people in eastern Kentucky want to work and will work if given an opportunity,” Whitehead said.

WorkNow was provided by a collaborative effort of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, local workforce investment boards (like the EKCEP Workforce Investment Board in eastern Kentucky), and volunteer public and private sector employers – with a big assist from the Kentucky General Assembly, which provided the matching funds required to make the federally funded program possible.

WorkNow was funded with federal ARRA dollars provided through the Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund.

For more information about Workforce Investment Act services available in Morgan and Menifee counties, call 743-4141 or visit www.ekcep.org or www.facebook.com/ekcep.