YOUR DONATION WILL SUPPORT THE TRADES!

If you've ever had your car repaired by a mechanic, had a plumber fix your sink, or had your hair styled at a salon, the individual who did that work just might have been a former SkillsUSA member! Help the SkillsUSA Virginia Foundation support Career & Technical Education in our local high schools and technical centers/community colleges!

There are SO many stories of our students achieving success after graduating. One is Julia Grim, CPCU, who is the Director, Physical Damage of GEICO. Here is her testimonial about SkillsUSA:

“I was that shy and quiet kid in class until I started my class with Ms. Powell in high school and she saw something in me that I didn’t yet see in myself. As I worked through this class that would prepare me for the world of work, she also opened my eyes to a student organization, SkillsUSA, that I could be involved in to further develop myself. I had no idea what I was getting into. Ms. Powell pushed me to run for district office to represent the area in SkillsUSA. Surprisingly, I was elected. Then, she told me to run for National Office. “What was she thinking?” I thought to myself. But I trusted the process and the guidance and I went for it. I earned the chance to go to Kansas City and participate in my first National Leadership & Skills Conference. While there, I campaigned, answered questions, and made speeches which resulted in earning the National Secondary President position for the organization. My life changed at that moment. I spent the next year representing 230,000 other students from all over the county, traveling monthly, and meeting with Business & Industry partners to explain the importance of investing in students who focused on trades and technical learning to enhance their futures. I’ll never forget standing in front of the Waldorf Astoria in New York as a 17-year-old and speaking on stage just before Rudy Giuliani. What an experience!

While SkillsUSA taught me so many things as a teenager and later in life (and how many things in my professional life I attribute to what I learned!), I now look at the organization as a developer of so many students and what they can be in their futures. In my current role as Director, Physical Damage for GEICO, I recognize the importance of what organizations like SkillsUSA do for us in insurance. When my team handles a claim for a customer and we deliver on our promise, their vehicle goes to a shop that has to have effective, capable body technicians and painters to restore the customer’s vehicle back to pre-loss condition. SkillsUSA supports just that – students that want to invest in their future career by teaching them early on in the classroom what they could be capable of. I’m also proud of serving in our local community with my team when SkillsUSA has a local contest so I have the chance to watch these students practice and compete in their trade. SkillsUSA has, and will continue, to be a huge part of my career journey and is something that I truly believe in to develop our future technical workforce.”

SkillsUSA offers students enrolled in secondary and post-secondary technical programs opportunities to compete in skill competitions at the local, regional, state, national and even international levels. Showcasing their acquired knowledge in a competitive environment against their peers offers students an arena to show to perspective employers their ability to perform at the highest levels under pressure. In addition, SkillsUSA also asks students to reach outside their skill area to develop lifelong skills in leadership that employers so desperately need. Students can hold a local, district, state or national office which allows those chosen to be introduced to a world few students get to experience. Those students are truly the leaders of the organization in every sense. They are engaged in public speaking, meeting with leaders from business and industry, and running business meetings. Other students can enter competitive events in contests ranging from Prepared Speech to Technical Math. It is through participation in these programs that SkillsUSA is truly preparing students to be the leaders of tomorrow.

The SkillsUSA Virginia Foundation supports the programs above both financially as well as hands-on support through hosting competitions, serving as a judge, or in a behind-the-scenes support role. Individuals and companies have donated both their time and expertise as well as funding support to be sure that students have these opportunities both today and in the future. We would appreciate YOUR donation of any size to further our mission to empower our members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens.

Want to do more than make a donation? We are also looking for PARTNERS. The foundation acts as a bridge between business and industry as well as the community at large, and teachers, students and administrators. We get our partners involved with curriculum development, pairing business partners with teachers in their local schools, showcase their businesses at events such as the State Fair of Virginia, or the District and State Conferences. We want to make sure that our partners are receiving a significant return on investment, and the best way we can do that is acting as a conduit to students. Employers are struggling to find quality employees, and we want to provide a pipeline to the next generation of talent.

For information on becoming a PARTNER, contact the SkillsUSA Virginia Foundation Executive Director, Jeff Sluss: jsluss@skillsusava.org.

SkillsUSA Virginia Foundation

By SkillsUSA Virginia Foundation

SkillsUSA Virginia Foundation

Our mission is to empower our members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens.