To help families truly prosper, a multi-faceted approach is needed. Children must be read to, as we’ve learned from the Early Childhood focus areas of Prosper Lincoln, and their parents must have stable and well-compensated employment, as we know from Prosper Lincoln’s Employment Skills focus area.
The Lincoln Children’s Museum is taking this whole family approach by partnering with Lincoln Public School’s Family Literacy Program and EmployLNK for an upcoming event on September 30. This free day of play for immigrant and refugee families will incorporate a job and resource fair for this community, something that previously hasn’t been possible due to transportation and location challenges.
The career and resource fair will provide parents the opportunity to learn about available career pathways in the manufacturing, health, and skilled trades industries and available services in the community such as after-school programs, athletics, and education.
Funding provided by the Cooper Foundation provides for this day of play, free transportation to the Museum from Family Literacy sites, and funds to provide subsidized memberships to ensure participants can come back throughout the year. Following the kick-off event, Family Literacy site coordinators will assist their classes in getting to the Museum on their own by utilizing available public transportation, building upon a model the program uses to help families access grocery stores and other essential parts of our community.
LPS and the Museum partnered with EmployLNK to create the Career and Resource Fair. EmployLNK links workforce-focused agencies such as ResCare/American Job Center, Department of Labor, Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development/Prosper Lincoln, Lutheran Family Services, Catholic Social Services, Vocational Rehabilitation, Center for People in Need, Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Veterans Affairs and more with job seekers across the community. EmployLNK meets monthly with businesses to learn about career pathways and organizes veterans, youth, and job seeker career fairs as well as case manager business tours.
Lincoln Children’s Museum is an essential community resource for all families, and funding opportunities like this from the Cooper Foundation allow the Museum to truly serve its mission and all those in the Lincoln community.