Cheyanne enrolled in Santa Maria’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program (CCMEP) in April of 2019 with the goal of getting her High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma and obtaining a job. She quickly earned her HSE in May of 2019, and in August of 2019 she started a work experience at a new worksite, O Pie O Bakehouse. Cheyenne did such a great job that she was hired on for a permanent position as a Pastry Chef in November of 2019.
Cheyanne then enrolled in the Avenues to Success program, which is a project available to all enrolled CCMEP youth. Avenues to Success allows youth to earn gift cards for maintaining employment for a specified number of hours over a certain amount of days. Cheyanne received the following incentives for maintaining employment at O Pie O; 30-day retention, 60-day retention, 90-day retention, and the in-demand incentive. Cheyanne recently received a promotion at O Pie O which came with a $2.00 hourly pay increase, however the COVID-19 Pandemic has sadly caused her to be laid off.
Cheyanne planned to use her incentives to set money aside for an emergency fund. She enjoyed working at O Pie O and reported feeling that she was valued as an employee, and that the company made an investment in her. Avenues to Success has been an awesome program that has enabled many of our CCMEP youth to take steps toward building a better financial future. Unfortunately, in these uncertain times some of our partnerships are at risk and many of our services have been put on hold. We need your generous donation now more than ever.