Sounds like a great idea. I was involved with a program that grew into a National program called Hot Rodders of Tomorrow.
High school teams from all over the country competed in an engine building contest all on the same engine models with the same tools to see which team could get the engines apart and back together again in the shortest time.
It was a phenomenal program and the guys and girls learned a lot about team work.
I sponsored a team for 4 years while working as national sales manager for a high performance friction manufacturer.
Spent 34 years in the high performance and racing industry sold vehicles for 5 years of my semi retirement and finally called it quits but we need tradesman and women desperately.
The dealerships I worked for in Texas had me recruiting technicians from the army bases as they have GM training schools on many bases for people getting out in the coming 18 months.
These are full on training facilities just like the ones at the GM training facilities in MI.
At that time there was need within just the GM network for 3000 technicians and that was 5 years ago it probably much higher now then add in all the other brands and independent shops and you can see the need just in the auto industry alone.
Dealerships are competing for techs and they actually steal them from each other.
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Originally Posted by spd2918
I am thinking of starting a nonprofit organization to mentor high school students in the area. The goal would be providing students with life skills, confidence, and direct jobs skills. I am seeking input from villagers and gauging volunteer availability.
In Superior WI I created and ran a nonprofit called Spartan Hot Rod (the high school mascott was a Spartan). We saw a need for young people to learn a craft and work on a team. Each year we provided a small group of kids a motorcycle or car project. They worked with adults in the industry to repair and restore it. We auctioned the vehicle at our own spring car show and that funded the next year's build. It was fun for the adults and I hope it made a difference in the kids' lives.
(Photos on the Facebook page "Spartan Hot Rod")
This program was open to any interested student. Some students went on to work in the trades. Some went to college. All left with more confidence and something to talk about at a job interview. The number one thing employers are looking for is a person's abilityto work on a team. We eventually were able to offer a small grant towards trade school tuition.
I am seeking to guage interest in starting such a program here. I see many small area schools that would benefit and each school could have its own program. We could have a spring show where the projects would be auctioned.
There are many small volunteer opportunities for car crazy villagers like project management, parts/ vehicle acquisition, transportation, advice, etc. Non-car person help could include public speaking, accounting, legal advice, fundraising, etc.
If there is sufficient interest i can host a public meeting to further explain the idea.
Any thoughts?
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