A partnership between the Cowan Community Action Group, LKLP Kentucky Career Center, and Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) is providing paid summer internships for approximately 100 young people in Whitesburg, Kentucky. The initiative, celebrated with a kickoff event at CANE Kitchen in Whitesburg on Thursday, May 29, aims to offer valuable work experience while injecting economic vitality into the community.
EKCEP is providing the funding to cover the costs of the internships, allowing local youth to gain professional skills and earn money for their future endeavors, such as college tuition. At the same time, these internships provide eager workers to lead the children at the “Kids on the Creek” summer camp and provide hands-on work for other organizations around the community this summer.
Valerie Horn, Director of the Cowan Community Action Group, expressed her enthusiasm for the longstanding program. “Cowan does a lot of work in the community,” Horn said. “Working with youth for this internship program is our very favorite.”
Horn emphasized the privilege of being part of a program that invests in the community’s youth and empowers them to shape its future.
“When you read and see their scholarship applications, and their needs, to put this money back into our community … it’s just a privilege to be a part of it,” Horn added.
Horn said she sees the collaboration between Cowan and EKCEP as an investment in local youth, and it provides a pathway to equipping them with new skills and experience that can help them thrive once they enter the workforce and step onto career paths.
“Very pleased with our partnership with EKCEP. Like most good things it’s built on relationships, and we have strong relationships with them,” Horn stated. “They know our community, they live in our community, they are part of the community, and want the best for the community.”
Bridget Back, EKCEP Deputy Director, echoed these sentiments, highlighting the positive impact of the partnership.
“Cowan does this great program every summer where they put youth to work,” Back said. “We at EKCEP are very blessed to be able to have funding this year to be able to work with them.”
The partnership between the Cowan Community Action Group and EKCEP also serves as a powerful example of community-driven efforts to support and uplift the next generation of leaders in Eastern Kentucky. For the student interns, the program offers a tangible path toward their future aspirations. Stephen Bingham, one of the interns, shared his excitement about the opportunities the program presents.
“There’s some barriers in life, and if I can bypass that it makes it a great opportunity,” Bingham said. “The people before and people that work it now, the adults and students alike, are great people and can really help lead our area around here, and I think it needs to be a bigger part of what people do during the summer.”
Blaire Newsome, another intern, is focused on the financial benefits that will support her higher education goals.
“For me personally, it’s going to help me save up for college because you know college isn’t cheap and tuition is very high,” Newsome explained. “I am going to be going to UPike and studying business in the fall, and I am very excited about that, and I am just happy that I have this opportunity to fund my future career.”
For more information about EKCEP programs, or how to access career and employment services in Eastern Kentucky, visit ekcep.org.
EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. EKCEP is funded by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, along with various federal and state grants and private donations.