Please watch the video below for a personal message from Job Corps National Director Rachel Torres.
Job Corps Christmas Party 2022
This Christmas, Woodstock Job Corps Center hosted a party on Christmas Day for about 40 students from the Woodstock, Woodland and Potomac Job Corps Centers. Staff from all three centers volunteered to be on hand for the event, and they ensured that every student received a gift. I was fortunate enough to join and celebrate with the students and staff.
I would like to take this time to thank the Woodstock Job Corps Center for hosting this joyous event, and the staff from all three centers for volunteering on Christmas Day to make sure all the students on center received plenty of love and holiday cheer.
Job Corps truly is one big family. I cannot thank you enough for the commitment you all have made to helping our students reach their full potential. You are the connection to our students who are making major changes in their lives. As we start a new year with new students, new roles and new challenges, no one’s role is more important than yours right now.
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
When Martin Luther King Jr. set out on his lifelong journey of bringing equality and fighting discrimination against African Americans, he could not predict the hardships he would face every day. But he had faith that it would bring monumental changes, not only to the United States, but to the rest of the world.
When he led the Montgomery bus boycott after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, he was imprisoned, his home was bombed, and he was subjected to personal abuse and threats. But after 385 days, the protest ended on Dec. 20, 1956, with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.
Despite all that he went through, he had faith and never gave up.
When he helped lead the Birmingham campaign and other organized marches, he and his supporters were subjected to high-pressure water jets, police attack dogs and more imprisonment. Yet they held faith, remained peaceful and never gave up. The city of Birmingham changed its discriminatory laws, and eventually laid the steppingstones to the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.
His faith in change and never giving up led to a level of greatness no one could predict.
I hope all of you are as inspired by his actions as I am. We still have a long way to go in the journey toward that more perfect union that he dreamed of. But we have all come so far, not only as a nation, but in our own personal journeys as well.
I leave you all with this quote from him and hope it sets a precedent for the rest of your year. I’m so thankful for all of you, and remember you are not alone. We’re a family, and we will do everything we can to help you get through these challenging times and rise above them.
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl; but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
I Want To Hear About Your Job Corps Wins!
This year, we want to celebrate all of your successes, big or small, and promote the remarkable things you and your students have accomplished. Whether it was helping secure a pre-apprenticeship, a dream job or volunteering in your community, we are so proud of everything you have accomplished.
We’re always looking to highlight our students and graduates on the official Job Corps social media pages.
Visit https://info.joinjobcorps.com/social to learn more about how they can be featured! If you are about to attend a graduation from Job Corps, please let us know or share pictures of this big moment!
If you have questions or if you helped a student secure an apprenticeship through Job Corps, please share at news@doljobcorps.com.
U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Job Corps, 200 Constitution Ave NW, Suite N4463, Washington, DC 20210, 800-733-JOBS (5627)
Job Corps is a U.S. Department of Labor Equal Opportunity Employer Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. TDD/TTY telephone number is (877) 889-5627.