The Y is the first job for lots of young people, whether it’s working as a day camp counselor, a lifeguard, or in child watch. At the Macomb Family YMCA, students from the Pankow Center in L’Anse Creuse Public Schools have been coming to the Y to get some of their first work experiences for nine years now.
This year’s crop of students, Marina, Victoria and Elvi, come to the Y four days a week for a little less than an hour a day as part of their regular school day. They help out with everything from washing, drying and folding towels to cleaning the fitness equipment to assembling mailings. Sometimes they help with events, or work outdoors on the Y’s beautiful, volunteer-maintained gardens.
Betty Peretiatko, who works with them through the school and supervises them at the Y, says that it’s a great way for these young people to get some work experience, and everyone a the Y is very accepting and welcoming of them. They’ve made a great deal of progress through their time at the Y. It’s a good thing for the Y staff, as well, because with the students to help them with more routine tasks they can focus more on serving members. “We have such a great partnership with the Y,” says Betty. “They are observing people at work and out in public, and the Y staff serves as role models for them.”
The students are required to call in if they are sick, and have assigned tasks they are expected to accomplish with minimal direction. It’s clear from observing them they have a strong sense of pride in their work and want to do well. Steve Krankota, membership cordonator for the Macomb Y, says they have become a part of the Y family. As for the students, they wear their Y shirts with pride and look forward to coming there, Betty says.