A Jefferson County website that helps connect people looking to learn new skills with those who can teach those skills is now in the process of adding a comprehensive directory of youth programs thanks to a grant from First Federal Community Foundation.

The community enrichment platform, called Skillmation (skillmation.org), is a project of the recently founded Stronger Towns, which last year got its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and, as its name suggests, is dedicated to supporting projects that help build stronger towns.

Skillmation currently offers a platform for adults on which, for example, a woodworker wishing to share wisdom can create a profile, and someone wanting to learn woodworking can go online and can seek out that mentor, or any other woodworkers offering their skills. The site currently has about 80 mentors offering a diversity of skills, said cofounder Martha Trolin.

“There’s a level of human capital that we are trying to capture in this county so that we can spread [that capital] broadly across the county,” Trolin said.

“Skills and talent are shared and create bridges to different communities,” she said.

Someone can learn a skill from someone who’s older or younger, or from someone in a different part of the county.

And it’s all volunteer. “We did that on purpose,” Trolin said. The site is all about building community – and stronger towns – through developing and sharing skills.

YOUTH ACTIVITIES

The youth activity site (YAS) that the grant is funding would specifically connect young people ages 5-18 with nonprofits and businesses in Jefferson County that offer programs, camps, internships, summer jobs and more.

Trolin said YAS would act as “really a wonderful container, because we have hundred of nonprofits in Jefferson County.” Skillmation will be contacting all of the nonprofits in the county to get them on board, Trolin said.

The site would allow students to find summer job listings or internships in a field they’re interested in pursuing and also serve as a place where parents can look for tutors or local summer camps for their child, and teachers can connect students to activities that would enhance their education.

While a parent can currently go to the Skillmation website and find available offerings for some internships, apprenticeships, job shadowing and tutoring, YAS will be a much easier platform to search, and would offer more youth-oriented activities, and more group- and youth-specific activities, Trolin said.

“The Youth Activities Site will be a great tool for young people, parents and teachers. It will be the center cog in the wheel for community engagement with the schools,” said Sarah Rubenstein, director of the Maritime Discovery School and a Skillmation advisory board member in a press release.

SAFE CONNECTIONS

Many of the mentors have been vetted through Washington State Patrol checks, and WSP also gives mentors guidelines on how to mentor effectively, and suggests open, public places to meet, such as the library.

“We do our best to ensure a safe connection,” Trolin said.

The new portion of the website is currently being built, and the plan is to have a prototype finalized by the end of the year, said Trolin. “We are thrilled and grateful to First Federal for their support of this important tool for the young people in our county,” Trolin stated.

No downtime or outages for the existing Skillmation adult mentoring website are anticipated, she said.

The Skillmation website is currently online and open for both mentor postings and to those looking for mentorship, internships and apprentice programs.

Anyone who has a skill they want to share is invited to make a mentor profile, and for those older than 18, there are 80 mentors currently signed up to share skills.