Flint Hills Job Corps students volunteer time to improve their community

They can be found at almost all community events. Usually they are found in the background and out of the limelight, but they are there.

Students from the MTC-operated Flint Hills Job Corps Center regularly volunteer their time and energy at such community events as: Make a Difference Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and National and Global Youth Service Day.

The Flint Hills staff and students routinely travel to several area communities to offer assistance.  They are also a regular fixture on the Kansas State University campus.  Job Corps Center in facility maintenance, said she has traveled to other Kansas towns to volunteer.

K-State Volunteer Center coordinators say the Job Corps students are instrumental in helping many campus events run smoothly.

Tauna Spain, Business and Community Liaison for the Flint Hills Job Corps Center, says some students try to go out every week.  “Many of our students try to get involved whenever they can,” Spain said.  “Whether it is beautification projects around town, helping out at the Emergency Shelter or even stuffing envelopes, our students want to lend a hand.”

Obviously it is a cost savings to communities and the university whenever Job Corps students perform volunteer work which would otherwise require paid staff to complete.  It’s anyone’s guess how many 10s or 100s of thousands of dollars Flint Hills Job Corps Center students have saved the school and municipalities over the years.

In the 12 month period from October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008, Flint Hills Job Corps Center staff and students performed 3439 hours of community service.

(Posted 11/20/08)

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