McHugh
By Kelly Doran
Editor

After being awarded a $45,898 Community Connectors Grant, the Clermont Chamber Foundation will be starting a one-on-one mentorship program for students in Clermont County.

The program will be part of the Chamber Foundation’s work readiness initiative that began as an attempt to get students ready for the work force, said Susan McHugh, project manager for the foundation.

Governor John Kasich and the Ohio legislature started the Community Connectors program in 2014 to help fund mentoring programs with students, parents, schools, communities, faith-based organizations and businesses, according to the Community Connector website.

McHugh learned about the grant from Stewart Greenlee, president of Center Bank, who heard about the grant and encouraged McHugh to apply. She did but was not expecting to be awarded a grant, because she had never applied for a grant before and because of the large number of applicants.

She wrote about the excellent partners the program has and about how they will be able to bring one-on-one mentoring to every eligible school in the county, which is every school district except Milford Exempted Village School District. Eligibility is based on poverty levels, McHugh said.

McHugh is looking for 50 mentors to go into every Clermont County school district. She plans to find other funding so Milford students can also benefit from the program.

The Community Connector program requires all mentorship programs to focus on five principles: “setting goals to be prepared for 21st Century careers,” “building character,” “developing pathways to achievement,” “building a sense of resiliency” and “believing in a positive future,” according to the website.

The mentor will meet with their student for about an hour at least once a month, McHugh said.

“We think once it starts they will be spending more time than that,” she said.

She is asking the schools to choose the students that they feel would benefit the most from the program. McHugh hopes to get students that are eager or interested, but need a little help or direction.

McHugh believes the students and mentors will form life-long bonds because the mentors will see the influence they have on a student’s future. She is looking forward to seeing how the program plays out.

Chris Zerhusen, owner of ZH Commissioning, has already committed to being a mentor. He has been a team leader for the Clermont Northeastern Local School District since the work readiness initiative began. He also has a six-year-old son and a wife who teaches at Milford, so he is very involved in education topics.

“Without hesitation I signed up for that because I feel it’s important,” Zerhusen said.

Life skills are critical to get jobs, and Zerhusen has always said that he is more likely to hire someone with a good personality that looks him in the eye, dresses professionally and doesn’t text than someone who has the education.

“I feel that’s more important than the knowledge of the technology aspects that I have,” Zerhusen said.

The grant will also allow the foundation to give a stipend to the teachers who will be organizing the program after school and making sure it is running smoothly, McHugh said.

The work readiness initiative began after the Clermont Chamber of Commerce surveyed members and found that businesses large and small have jobs available but have difficulty finding people with work skills, McHugh said.

It evolved into a partnership with public schools, businesses and community leaders that will be starting its fourth year. The initiative is open to everyone, not just chamber members, McHugh said.

Volunteers go into high schools and teach students life skills, like how to dress professionally, how to interview and how to put together a resume. Schools often don’t have time to teach those anymore, McHugh said.

McHugh also hopes this program will teach students that they don’t have to go to college to be successful, but they can also utilize certificate programs.

“Those are the kind of things we need to let students know, that a college degree isn’t the only route to take,” McHugh said.

The program has gotten positive reviews from the volunteers, the schools and the students. McHugh recalled a letter she got from a volunteer, who said she was drafted by her boss to participate and didn’t want to, but now feels it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her career.

McHugh also was encouraged by feedback from a student who said she used every skill she learned in a job interview and got the job.

“It was so inspiring that this young woman, who probably has a bright future ahead of her, maybe we helped her a little bit,” McHugh said.