Mattie Rhodes Center’s Northeast Alliance Together (NEAT), a community development corporation, is asking for volunteers to help youth with career readiness skills.

The Junior Achievement It’s My Future Program will teach local 6th through 8th grade students ways to develop their personal branding and job-hunting skills.

“It’s all about the accessibility,” said Sierra Faust, AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) for NEAT and program developer. “There’s these types of programs all throughout Kansas City, but we wanted one to be specifically for our Northeast neighborhood.”

The program will begin sometime in late January, with dates still pending. Volunteers will conduct 45-minute tutoring sessions once a week for six weeks. It is designed to work virtually or in person.

No previous teaching is required, as volunteers will be taken through training before the program begins by the program manager with Junior Achievement.

“Our hope is that this is going to be the first small step in creating a more fleshed out career program,” Faust said.

Throughout her year at NEAT, Faust will help develop career readiness and job training programs for Northeast residents and beyond.

For those interested in either volunteering or enrolling in the program, contact Sierra Faust at sfaust@mattierhodes.org or call (816) 520-7115.

Nikki Lansford contributed to this article.