LORETTO — On April 16, Alexis Delullo of St. Marys and other members of the St. Francis University (SFU) Enactus team completed their pilot Uwork community development project.
Uwork is an acronym for “Workforce Opportunities through Resources and Knowledge” and places St. Francis University students in mentorship roles with area job-seekers through regional community outreach groups.
Students like Delullo provided training in career development knowledge areas such as responsible social networking, non-verbal/soft skills, self-esteem, resume and cover letter development, and professional writing and composition. Community partners for this project include the Center for Community Action and the Altoona Area School District Adult Education Program.
Enactus is an international student business club with the mission to use the free market for the benefit of society as a whole.
Uwork’s pilot deployment was funded by a grant from BNY Mellon awarded at the Enactus National Competition in May 2018. The SFU Enactus team spent the fall of 2018 planning project deployment and lining up community partners before beginning deployment in February. Since that time, the Enactus team has presented six training sessions between the CCA and AASD, reaching approximately 20 high-risk job seekers. Participants in the pilot received a certificate of completion and a small gift for attending.
Challenges to program participants included the fact that many community partner schedules conflicted with SFU volunteer class times. Other challenges included high rates of participant changeover and difficulties with transportation for attendees.
With those challenges in mind, the Uwork project team plans on expanding program offerings for the fall through existing and developing community partners and acquisition of additional funding.
The St.Francis University Uwork team received support from community partners: the Shields School of Business Dean Dr. Randy Frye and Associate Dean Dr. John Miko, BNY Mellon, SFU Career Services, Dr. Kelly Rhodes, Enactus USA, and the SFU community for support.
For more information, visit www.francis.edu/uwork.
