OJAI : Youth Job Service Back in Business
After being out of work for a year, the Ojai Youth Employment Service is back in business with a new set of bosses and an overdue paycheck.
The Ojai City Council agreed Tuesday to release a $3,000 allocation for the service that had been returned to city coffers when the nonprofit corporation disbanded last October.
Its new chairman, Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Ball, said the agency has re-formed with new bylaws, a new director, a new board and a new office at 110 E. Matilija St.
It provides free job counseling, training and placement to Ojai Valley youths ages 13 to 21, at no charge to participating employers.
The program operated for 20 years until its former director and nine-member board resigned last year.
“We never got the funding we were led to believe we would get from United Way,” said former Director Tim Sidoti. Despite increased private donations, Sidoti said the old board realized that it could not meet the United Way’s expanded program goals with half the $18,000 grant it had expected.
Ball said the new 14-member board will receive about $8,000 United Way held in reserve. “Our intention is to build up the service and do more fund raising,” he said.
LouAnn Schlichter of Ojai is the new executive director.
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