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All in Adams--Back to School Bash & Beyond
19 Plays1 month ago
The popular Back-to-School Bash event is back this year, and it’s got a new addition and name. It’s now the Back-to-School Bash and Beyond: From Learning to Earning. The Human Services department and Workforce & Business Center have teamed up to provide Adams County students with the school supplies they need, while also providing a job fair for the adults and older students in the family. This week, we’re joined by some special guests to learn more about this fun event.
Links mentioned in this episode:
https://adcogov.org/workforce-business-center
https://adcogov.org/back-school-bash
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Transcript
00:00:04
Speaker
Welcome to All In Adams, the official podcast of Adams County Government, where we're all in for our residents, our employees, and our community. So whether you live here, work here, or you just want to know more about what makes Adams County a great place to be, thanks for tuning in.
00:00:21
Speaker
We're all in, Adams. Thank you for joining us today. I'm Julie Jackson, a communications supervisor here at Adams County, and I'm joined by special guests from our Human Services Department.
00:00:32
Speaker
We have Jodi Kammerzell, who is the Division Director of the Workforce and Business Center, also known as the WBC, because we are government, we do love our acronyms. And then also mo Monique Espinoza, the Satellite Office Operations Coordinator.
00:00:47
Speaker
So we're here today to chat about our upcoming Back to School Bash and Beyond from Learning to Earning event that's happening this month. This is the fourth year that we are doing this exciting event and the and beyond part, that's new. So we're going to get to that a little bit later.
00:01:03
Speaker
But first, Monique, I would love it if you could just tell us a little bit about the Back to School Bash, um like the part of that part of this event, how it works, all that stuff. Yeah, absolutely.
00:01:14
Speaker
So it is going to be this year, Saturday, July 19th from 9 a.m. m to 3 p.m. um We are going to have community partners and everybody joining us um to make sure the kiddos and older students get a successful start to the new year.
00:01:31
Speaker
um It's going to require registration, as it always has. So um more to come on that. But um the registration will be done through Eventleaf.
00:01:42
Speaker
And then also everybody that is um attending is also required to register through Connecting Colorado this year. um So anybody 16 and older in the household will have to register.
00:01:55
Speaker
um And we will double check those prior to the event to try to avoid any confusion at the event the day of. um And then the event is for our Adams County residents, anybody that we're serving through human services that may be on Medicaid, SNAP,
00:02:11
Speaker
um ah utilizing any of our services, kinship, foster care, or the workforce and business center. so Awesome. And so you mentioned, you know, it's for a successful start to the school year, right? So what are some of the school supplies that we're going to be providing for our students?
00:02:28
Speaker
um It's going to be everything from backpacks to Clorox wipes and Kleenex that are usually costly um that we know some of our families um have a hard time with. So we're kiddos and students will all be able to pick out their own backpacks.
00:02:43
Speaker
um It'll be pens, pencils, markers, you know, anything that may be on their list. And we're trying to make sure they're provided with this year. Awesome. And it is so fun to watch these kiddos pick out their backpacks. Like they just have so many options and it's just such a fun event to be at.
00:03:00
Speaker
um Another fun part of the event that I've, you know, when I've gone in the past, there's been a lot of fun stuff happening inside as well. um And especially like, you know, just for kiddos to enjoy. I wonder if you could tell me a little bit about what's going on inside this year.
00:03:12
Speaker
Yeah, so this year we are going to have face painters. We're going photo booth. um In the past, we've always had free haircuts for the students as well as their families um and completely free cost.
00:03:26
Speaker
Those are being provided by Empire. um we will have a job fair this year as well as a virtual reality experience, which Jodi can talk about more.
00:03:39
Speaker
Awesome. Mm-hmm. And you did mention earlier about some community partners that are going to be involved. So but can you tell me a little bit about who's going to be participating? Yes. So we are going to have an immense amount of community partners coming this year. Awesome. um But we are going to have Hunger Free Colorado. we're going to have the health department. We're going to have some of our outreach teams um internal to human services, providing information on the services that we provide um and how people can apply.
00:04:09
Speaker
we are going to have um just a bunch of different people coming. I think we've had over 30 people or 30 community partners confirm that they're coming. Amazing. And I know we talked earlier that this is the fourth year that this has happened.
00:04:22
Speaker
um and And I know that just every year we've just had an immense number of families. So can you tell me a little bit about just how many families or children we've helped without you know throughout the years? so Yeah, so typically we serve about 3,000 children wow or students every year.
00:04:39
Speaker
um We keep it around that number. Last year we were able to serve 3,200 students. ah it's eight hundred families that registered 200 additional wait-listed families that we were able to serve.
00:04:54
Speaker
um And this year, we're also going to have the sheriff's department helping folks out that maybe showed up um and maybe weren't registered or may still need help. So we're still going to try to extend that number as much as we can this year.
00:05:08
Speaker
Awesome. So it's going to be about that same 3000 or 3200 this year, i think. Yes. Wonderful. That is so cool. Well, thank you for all of that information. This is really great for all of our residents to know.
00:05:19
Speaker
um And as I mentioned earlier, this is truly an incredible event for our community. um And the cool thing is, it sounds like it's getting even better this year. So Jodi, that's kind of where I want you to chat. um you You know, over the years, like i said, it's helped a lot of families um with their back to school supply needs.
00:05:34
Speaker
And the addition this year that and beyond, um it provides even more services, including to the adults and older students in the family. um So Jodi, I was just wondering if you could share a little bit more about what that beyond entails.
00:05:47
Speaker
Yes. So the back to school bash, as Monique says, attracts thousands of people each year. And we were excited to be a part of it and introduce our workforce services into this welcoming environment.
00:06:04
Speaker
So Monique also mentioned that we are having a job fair. So anybody who registers for the event, we encourage them to stop by the job fair.
00:06:16
Speaker
This is a great opportunity for families who are there. We know there's a lot of working age adults, ah youth entering the workforce, and just people looking to reenter the workforce. So it's an opportunity to check out new career opportunities.
00:06:34
Speaker
In addition, we um any youth registering for the event can complete, any youth 16 to 24, can complete a short questionnaire for an opportunity to ah have a chance at a Chromebook.
00:06:52
Speaker
Oh, great. Yeah, we're very excited about that. yeah Getting youth attached to technology to help them in their studies and training is important.
00:07:03
Speaker
Yeah. And Monique had mentioned something about virtual reality. Can you tell me a little bit more about what's going on over with that? Yeah. ah So we have some vendors who will be coming with some virtual reality opportunities. So people will be able to experience different work environments through a virtual lens.
00:07:22
Speaker
And that'll be really exciting. We'll have some big trucks for people to check out what it's like to to drive, well, to experience being in a big truck, not actually driving. that Sure, of course. A little safer that way, right? Yeah, a little Okay.
00:07:37
Speaker
Awesome. And can you maybe me tell me a little bit about how the job fair is going to work? Like, is this kind of like a networking opportunity? Learn more about businesses? How how is that going to work? So this is an opportunity for people to learn more about ah career opportunities through the businesses that are there.
00:07:56
Speaker
we We will have over 700 different job opportunities that people can explore. That is awesome. And Jodi, one other thing since you're here that I wanted to really you know just check in with you on.
00:08:11
Speaker
um yeah There might be some people listening who really want to come, but they might not be able to attend this specific event. So how could they maybe get involved or learn more about the WBC services?
00:08:22
Speaker
Sure. They can go to our website, the Adams County website, and search for the Workforce and Business Center to find out more about the opportunities that we offer.
00:08:34
Speaker
Awesome. And that is exciting. um So awesome. So for anybody listening, if they would like to learn more about this event or if they would like to register, in addition to searching the Workforce and Business Center for this specific event, you can search Back to School Bash and beyond.
00:08:49
Speaker
um We're also going to provide some direct links in the show notes as well. So you can go directly to those pages. And just, you know, thank you again, Jodi and Monique for, you know, joining us today and sharing about this really fun event.
00:09:01
Speaker
um I've been in years past. It's awesome. It's incredible to see the kiddos. And I'm really excited about this new edition of the job fair and like the virtual reality, like it's going to be a great partnership. thank um Thank you for coming on and telling us all about it.
00:09:16
Speaker
And thank you all listening or watching for joining us. Once again, I'm Julie Jackson, communications specialist, or excuse me, communications supervisor at Adams County. We'll see you all next week.
00:09:27
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you. That's a wrap for this episode of All in Adams. Thank you for joining us as we explore the people, programs, and the policies that make Adams County a great place to live, work, and thrive.
00:09:40
Speaker
If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe and share with your friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Have a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know. We're all in for bringing you the stories that matter most.
00:09:51
Speaker
Until next time, take care of each other and stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, and X. We're all in, Adams, and we're all in for you.