By CHRISTY WRIGHTSMAN, guest columnist
If you are anything like me, there are lots of times when you find yourself saying, “I did not know that!” So often we have opportunities and helpful information staring us in the face, and we do not see it.
So, let me ask you a question: Have you noticed the “Did You Know” ads each month in the Brown County Democrat? They are the brightly colored ads that always have the words “Did You Know” on it and a picture of something the Career Resource Center of Brown County offers.
I wish I could say that a “Did You Know” campaign from the CRC was my idea, but it was not. A former CRC student and local graphic designer, Dee Manzenberger, shared the idea with me in 2018.
One day, while we were talking about her recent graduation from Ivy Tech, Dee said, “Did you know that people don’t know what the CRC does?” Much to my shock, it had never occurred to me that an organization that had been part of this community since 2002 would have community members who did not know what we did, who we served, or what our mission was as an organization.
Dee proposed the “Did You Know” campaign, and I am forever thankful.
Over the past 10 months, the Career Resource Center of Brown County has submitted a monthly campaign ad that was not like other campaigns that you currently see. We were not campaigning for your vote. We were not asking you to choose us for your financial, legal or home buying needs. We were not even asking you to support us as a nonprofit. This campaign was aimed at sharing the opportunities the CRC has to offer as we serve this community through education.
Every ad was a glimpse into a service, class or program that we hoped our community would come to recognize and use. The message we are sending is all about our mission to offer educational opportunities, individual counseling and career-related services intended to improve the quality of life and earning potential through lifelong learning.
In short, we are here to help you expand your learning.
Every great educator knows that you must check your audience to see if what you have been teaching is being learned. So, what have you learned so far about your local Career Resource Center (CRC)?
First and foremost, we hope we have communicated the love and commitment we have for our students and community. The ad that ran in March seemed to be a great time to remind our community how much we care about people. The ad simply stated, “We love our students and our community. We wish you all safety and good health.” Amid the beginnings of COVID-19, we wanted our community to know that we care.
Hopefully, our comforting words helped you feel better about our little piece of the world during the craziness. It was a difficult time to say the least. Closing our doors temporarily this past spring was heartbreaking. We were conflicted. We knew we needed to ensure the safety of our personnel, but we definitely wanted to provide the services that our community needed. Like many others in Brown County, we found new ways to support each other and continue our services.
Through our partnership with Brown County Health and Living, we were able to graduate four more certified CNAs to work in this community. Our CRC volunteers like Dee Orga met by phone with clients who needed to update and refine their resumes. Many of these were individuals who were preparing to find new jobs as a result of layoffs and closures.
Our SCORE partners offered small business consultation through online platforms. Our CRC personnel provided weekly Work ONE job lists and updates regarding unemployment. We shared Chromebooks and WiFi access with those who needed it. We continued teaching adult education via phone, email and Zoom. We also found there continued to be a need for printing, faxing or copying whatever our community members needed.
If you knocked on our CRC door or called, we helped. Our Brown County community and the people who support our existence as a nonprofit organization are at the heart of everything we do.
November will be our last “Did You Know” ad, so we hope you have learned who we are, what we do, and how we serve this community. If you ever want to know more, contact me at [email protected] or stop by.
We are open and ready to meet your education needs.
