Enjoying the company of the community while supporting technical education scholarships with KEDA, the Keweenaw Young Professionals and the Chamber of Commerce sounds like holiday hoopla. Next week the groups will invite the community to the annual holiday hoopla celebration. KEDA Executive Director Jeff Ratcliffe says the exciting party includes a relaxing night with friends and raises funds for the Copper Country CTE students gaining additional certifications beyond high school.
The event is a holiday celebration that we’ve been doing for close to 10 years now, in conjunction with the Keweenaw Chamber and the Keweenaw Young Professionals. KEDA has an auction to raise money for career technical education scholarships, or in the old days, it was vocational education. These are scholarships for students graduating from the local high schools in our area. We started with nine high schools, but in 2019 we partnered with Copper Shores to expand the scholarship program into the rest of the counties that they serve and also ensure that we had guaranteed scholarships every year at least $1,000 per student. – Jeff Ratcliffe, Executive Director, Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance
Copper Country Career and Technical Education offers a variety of educational opportunities for students to explore careers. Including a health and nursing program, automotive technology, construction, and more.
Further training between the ages of 17, and 18, graduating from school, and 21 now will cost that student. Now the state of Michigan is providing community college education for free at this point for those over 21. So if you’re getting out of high school and pursuing a particular trade or vocation, it’s going to cost. And again, getting a certificate from any qualified provider or training provider will cost you money. So these help defer or defray some of that cost. – Jeff Ratcliffe, Executive Director, Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance
Ratcliffe adds that employment opportunities for technical trades and health professions continue to grow in the area. For those seeking education beyond the CTE program, scholarships supported by holiday hoopla can help lower the cost of obtaining a certification.
Everybody is growing, whether it’s the hospitals, whether it’s manufacturers, you name it. The vehicles we drive are more technical now than ever, so those folks need it. Again, you name it, everybody has a shortage of skilled employees. Every year we reach out to our local businesses and they’ve given generously for over 10 years now in providing us with items to auction off. We’ve also in probably the last five or six years or so, as the ISD has ramped up its CTE program, we’ve been able to get quite a number of items that they have actually created, they’ve built, as well as from the local high schools with their CTE program. – Jeff Ratcliffe, Executive Director, Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance
Holiday hoopla will feature great food, fantastic music, and a silent auction during the event. Those interested in the auction can view items before next Thursday after online access opens today at noon. Tickets for the event cost 35 dollars and support scholarship funds for local students. Those interested in attending Holiday hoopla with Copper Shores, KEDA, KYP, and the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce can find ticket and event information on the chamber’s website. The holiday hoopla will start at 6 pm on December 12th.
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