EXPLORATION PROGRAM

*Summer employment for the high school students who have completed the sophomore year can be a meaningful and rewarding experience, both for the student and the employer.

Foundation Support:

*Private foundation funding has made it possible for Respond along with some twenty other Delaware Valley non-profits, to work with private industry to hire high school students and their college age mentors each summer since 1983. Respond’s SCEP funding has come from the Campbell Soup, William Penn, Douty and the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundations. The Philadelphia Foundation provides funding and administers the overall program for the foundation collaborative.

Career Development:

*The program provides well supervised work experiences in career-oriented jobs, effective job related counseling, opportunity for students to explore career and vocational paths in the private sector, and the chance to earn money.

Job Counseling:

*Students work a minimum of five hours each day – four hours at the program’s expense, one hour at the employer’s expense. Each student and college mentor must complete a series of orientation workshops prior to having students interview with employers. Once hired, each student is counseled throughout the program by the college student program monitor who visits the job site at least twice a week and serves as liaison with the student’s job site supervisor.