Cathy Calabro introduced our speakers today: Elizabeth Adams, Program Services Manager, and Marley Herrick, Countywide Volunteer Program Associate, both with the organization Partners in Education. Partners in Education is a non-profit group administered by the Santa Barbara County Education Office that connects the business community with the education community. Educators contact them with current classroom needs and Partners in Education finds them that support in the local community. The biggest need is currently for tutors.

 

Partners in Education has three main programs. The first is Computers For Families, where donated computers are collected, refurbished, then used in computer education events put on by the group. Each event ends with every participating family taking home a desktop computer. Annually, Partners in Education gives out about 500 computers each year to families in Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Goleta.

 

The second is a paid student internship program. High school students apply for the program (about 60 selected annually) and once selected, go through job-readiness training and then are placed with local area businesses in the students’ area of interest (with Partners in Education covering half of the student intern’s pay, plus worker’s compensation and liability insurance coverage). Currently, about 95% of the students who go through this program stay in the area after finishing high school. If you have any businesses that are looking for student interns to train, let Partners in Education know!

 

The third program—and the largest—is their county-wide volunteer program. Partners in Education will place volunteers in the classroom and with youth-serving non-profits that express a need. One of the ways to get started in volunteering is to help with mock job interviews for students in local area high schools. If you are interested in volunteering to help with the mock job interviews, please contact Marley at mherrick@sbceo.org!