Special to the
Opelika Observer
“Before coming to CWJC, I felt like I had no direction. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. All I knew before coming was how to turn on a computer.” That was participant Amy Butler before completing nine weeks of classes at Christian Women’s Job Corps. After Butler saw a billboard for CWJC, she contacted Director Neeley Caldwell to see if the local ministry designed to help women in need was a fit for her. Butler was accepted into the program and began her classes in Computers, Communications, Budgeting, Health and Wholeness, Leadership Fundamentals, I Can, I Will, I Did, Living from the Inside Out, Career Direction, Money Smart, Bible Study and more. At Butler’s pinning ceremony on Nov. 7, she expressed very different sentiments.
“Now, I can go to different sites on the computer. I can calculate on Excel and do headings and columns, add and do formulas. In Word, I can keyboard, use bullet points, and I can set up a page correctly,” Butler said.
As a participant, Butler was “guided” by volunteer, instructor and Board Member Toddy Savage who worked with Amy weekly on making an “Action Board.”
Together, they established and monitored personal and career goals identifying specific steps or “actions” to be taken as they worked toward reaching those goals. On pinning day, Butler reflected on her experience at CWJC, “As the days progressed, I learned some new things about myself: I learned that I enjoy speaking in front of people and have good eye contact. I am thankful for the love and compassion that everyone has shown me. I will be better able to rejoin the work world now because I’m more confident in myself and with the skills CWJC has provided me. I am grateful to be a graduate of Christian Women’s Job Corps,” Butler said.
For more information on becoming a participant, volunteer, or supporter of Christian Women’s Job Corps® of Lee County, contact Caldwell at 334-821-0591, 334-524-5529 or neeley@cwjclc.com.