Business Volunteers Needed for 2004 Groundhog Job Shadow Day
December 10, 2003 - Thousands of Wake County students will be introduced to the career paths that will help them enter the workforce of the 21st century during the seventh annual Groundhog Job Shadow Day, to be held on Friday, January 30, 2004.
The Wake County Public School System's School-to-Career Council, in association with Junior Achievement of Eastern North Carolina, is actively recruiting businesses to host students in 2004. Last year more than 5,000 Wake County students benefited from a job shadowing experience with a local business.
Groundhog Job Shadow Day is a nationwide opportunity for students to experience firsthand a variety of occupations and the skills necessary to succeed in them. Research shows that students who job shadow will be more positive about their future; and more likely to complete high school, avail themselves of postsecondary opportunities, and become productively employed.
Because February 2, the traditional Groundhog Day, is on a Monday this year, event organizers have responded to business feedback and scheduled Groundhog Job Shadow Day for the previous Friday. This year, students will job shadow in the afternoon rather than the morning in order to better fit high school schedules.
Businesses who wish to participate in Groundhog Job Shadow Day can sign up by completing the brief Company Commitment Form at the Junior Achievment website. Schools seeking job shadowing opportunities will be able to view companies' information online and electronically reserve job shadowing slots.
Businesses and individuals who would like to volunteer to help with Groundhog Job Shadow Day, or would like more information about how to create a positive job shadowing experience, may contact Bob Brauer, president of Junior Achievement of North Carolina, at bob@juniorachievment.net, or Chris Droessler, School-to-Career coordinator, Wake County Public School System, at cdroessler@wcpss.net.