GREENVILLE CITY PARK ROUNDHOUSE PROVIDES WORK EXPERIENCE

L to R – Joseph Badell, Darke DD Community Services Director; Shelby Emrick, L&M Products Inc.; Jessica Shaffer, Greenville City Park Board Member; Julianne Klopfer; Seth Younce; Matt Harrison; Lisa Headley, Ohio Means Jobs - EDGE; Jesse Mowen; Michael R. Beasecker, Darke DD Superintendent; Cindy Kaufman, L&M Products, Inc.

If you had the opportunity to visit Greenville City Park over the summer, you may have noticed the City Park Roundhouse was open and staffed to sell packaged snacks and drinks to park patrons and visitors. This work opportunity was made available to help people obtain beneficial work experience over the summer months. This hands-on opportunity to learn small business operations – including customer relations, inventory tracking, purchasing, and bookkeeping – was an ideal match for the nine employees.

The employment opportunity was made possible through a multi-agency collaborative effort to support people in need of work experience. The agencies participating included L & M Products (Eaton, Ohio), Ohio Means Jobs – EDGE, Greenville City Park, and the Darke County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Darke DD). Nine employees worked more than 500 hours throughout the eight-week summer program to help make the Greenville City Park experience enjoyable by having packaged snacks and drinks available for purchase. The Roundhouse was generally open from 11 am to 7 pm daily.

L & M Products provided supervision while scheduling employees to work each day. L & M Products Executive Director, Cindy Kaufman, worked with Greenville City Park Manager, Deb Fall, to identify park events that would be enhanced by the availability of concessions. Kaufman stated, “The experience was rewarding for both employees and L & M staff members supporting them. Seeing each employee discover their potential while increasing confidence in their ability to work was the highlight of the program.”

EDGE and Darke DD worked to support the employment opportunity through eligibility determination and financial support. The City Park Board made the partnership possible by approving the collaborative concept and making the space available for the summer work experience.

The agencies involved in the project this year hope to see the work experience at the Greenville City Park Roundhouse continue in 2020.