Community Corner

Waterford Teens Are Lucky To Have A Job This Summer

More than 50 kids applied for the Waterford Recreation and Parks Jobs for Minors program. The eight positions were filled using a lottery system.



A lot of kids wouldn't consider themselves lucky to be spending the summer pulling weeds and picking up trash from Waterford's parks. But the eight teens who have jobs this summer through Waterford's Jobs for Minors program do. 

At the start of the summer, the unemployment rate for teens in Connecticut was just over 25 percent. So it's not surprising to hear that anywhere from 50 to 70 Waterford teens applied for the eight positions offered through the Jobs for Minors program this year. 

The town decides who to hire based on a lottery system, so the eight who were selected this summer really are the lucky ones. 

When Waterford Recreation and Parks first offered the program in 1974, it was funded through a federal grant and provided employment and on-the-job training for 36 Waterford residents ages 14-17. When federal funding ended, Waterford decided to keep the program going, although this year there's only enough money to hire eight teens. 

The group of eight will spend six weeks this summer sprucing up the town's parks and recreation areas, pulling weeds, painting buildings, and tidying up abandoned graveyards. 

"If we had 100 kids, we could keep them busy," said Waterford Recreation and Parks Program Director Kerry Sullivan. "It's a nice program."

It's also good for the town. 

"We have less maintenance staff [than we used to] so they help fill in some of the jobs we can't get to, and it's job training for them," said Recreation and Parks Director Brian Flaherty.   


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