Center for Work Education and Employment (CWEE)

If you take a look at traditional models of workforce development, you might be hard-pressed to find many that include social emotional learning as such an important element of programming. At CWEE, we recognize that when we clock in to work, we do not leave ourselves behind. Instead, we bring our whole selves to work each day. That's why we’ve created a program model that serves the entire person, not just the employee. Social emotional learning is critical to success in the workplace because it can help participants address hesitancies, manage anxieties, and learn techniques to communicate issues or difficulties within the workplace in a way that maintains integrity. Check out our latest blog below to learn more about the benefits of social-emotional learning and how CWEE integrates this important work into our workforce readiness training! #workforcedevelopment #socialemotionallearning #workplacereadiness

Spring is in the air and we're ready to do some cleaning! ???? As the old saying goes, many hands make light work, so we're looking for some friends to join us in our professional clothing boutique on March 18 from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. We'll be sorting clothing, organizing the space and putting out new inventory. If you're interested in helping, please sign up here: https://bit.ly/4i6ArsT

Have you heard the news? CWEE's going to be on TV! ???? Mark your calendar and set a reminder for 6 p.m. this Wednesday, March 5 - you're not going to want to miss CWEE's spotlight on Next with Kyle Clark on 9News! Every week, Kyle offers up a word of thanks for nonprofits doing crucial work in Colorado. He presents a new organization he'd like to highlight and asks viewers to consider a $5 donation. This week, Kyle will be featuring CWEE and will be generously matching the first 50 donations of $5! Will you help us reach our Word of Thanks goal of $30,000 in support of our transformative workforce development program? Every dollar donated will help us reach our goal and allow us to continue serving as a catalyst of change for families in our community! Make your gift: https://bit.ly/4blZB4h

This month, we're reflecting on CWEE's history and legacy in honor of Women's History Month. CWEE has been serving the metro-Denver community since 1982, when we opened our doors as Colorado Women's Employment and Education, Inc. CWEE's rich history is rooted in the grassroots of second-wave feminism and the Chicano Rights Movement, which recognized the challenges of the nation's antiquated welfare system and called for greater women's rights. Originally modeled after the National Women's Employment and Education program, CWEE offered a comprehensive model of skills training, supportive services and employer engagement. Today, CWEE continues to evolve and further develop programs that serve as a catalyst of true change for women experiencing poverty, homelessness, hunger and violence. While incredible strides in women's rights have been made since we opened our doors, we know there is still much work to be done. Pema Chodron says "The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment by moment." We are deeply grateful to work alongside CWEE's inspiring participants as they author new stories of empowerment and equality, every day, for themselves and all the women of tomorrow! #womenshistorymonth

Earlier this month, our CEO, Kate Horle, was thrilled to join the Colorado Lobbyists Association (CLA)?at their annual reception. The CLA collected donations for CWEE's professional clothing boutique, and Kate was invited to speak about our?approach to workforce development?and the impact of state and national policies on the?families we serve. Thank you, Colorado Lobbyists Association, for supporting CWEE and our?participants!

Did you know?that the?average cost of a baby’s first year is around $16,000? A baby may be tiny, but the cost of meeting all their needs is pretty huge!?From cribs and car seats, to diapers, clothes and toys, parents need to plan for a significant amount of resources as they get ready to welcome a new member to the family. For families living in poverty, this time of transition and change can feel especially strained due to limited household budgets.?Check out our latest blog?to see how CWEE proudly partners with WeeCycle, a fabulous local non-profit, to connect our participants?in need to essential baby gear at no cost!?Learn more about WeeCycle and the ways they're supporting CWEE families by reading our latest blog article.

We are delighted to be welcoming two new members, Maureen Pasquale and Catherine (Cat) Shea, to CWEE's Board of Directors this month! Maureen brings of wealth of experience from her 38-year career in finance at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine. Born and raised in Colorado, Maureen attended CU Boulder. She has two daughters and two dogs, and likes to hike, bike, read and travel. Maureen shares "After being introduced to CWEE I was in awe of what CWEE did for Denver and the surrounding area community. What a wonderful opportunity to become involved with the mission and everything CWEE stands for." Maureen is most looking forward to learning all about CWEE and everything we do in the community. She is ready to roll up her sleeves and get to work! Originally from the South, Cat has been in Colorado for 20 years and enjoys being active in the community - engaging in volunteer work and chatting about all things books and reading. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and a proud public service lawyer. One of Cat's passions is advocating for women and ensuring their access to education, which is a main driver of her interest in joining the board. She is most looking forward to connecting with CWEE participants and staff and being part of the huge impact of the organization!

We're honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., today and every day. His passionate and relentless commitment to a just and equitable world inspires us to continue working towards a society where his vision is reality. We know that progress and change will not happen by chance, so we put our vision of equity into action in the daily work at CWEE. Later this week, our staff will be gathering together with our partners at Equity Labs to continue our diversity, equity and inclusion work. We are dedicated to creating spaces where everyone is valued, heard, and empowered, and we look forward to gathering our community together to continue the struggle towards a more equitable world. #MLKDay #Justice #Equity

This month, we sat down with Savanna Depew, the Assistant Manager of CWEE’s Integrated Services team, to chat about one of the most important pieces of our work with participants: Motivational Interviewing. At CWEE, Motivational Interviewing (MI) guides our programming, from our curriculum and classroom discussions, to individual coaching sessions between participants and their Program Advisors. This behavioral change technique was developed by psychologists during the 1980s and has become the primary lens through which we approach our work alongside participants. Check out our conversation in the article below to learn more about Motivational Interviewing!

We're so proud to share that our CEO,?Kate, was invited to attend the National Childcare Innovation Summit?that took place in Washington D.C. last month?as part of our ongoing efforts to understand childcare needs across our city. Our long-term goal is to understand our community's childcare needs and play an active role in creating childcare solutions that are aligned to the specific needs of the community we serve, in partnership with several other organizations in the Denver Metro Area.?For the last several months, we have been working with Executives Partnering to Invest in Children?(EPIC) and other community leaders to engage in the assessment stage of the work. This stage is critical to truly understand the challenges our community?is facing when seeking childcare, so we can work toward solutions that will meet their unique needs. This month we will be inviting our participants to take part in a childcare assessment survey that will capture their experience and needs. We will then use this data to inform next steps in the project. We continue to be so encouraged by our community's excitement for and investment in this work. If you want to play a role in investing in the long-term success of our community, reach out to Brittany Iwaszkiw at?[email protected]?to learn more about how you can get involved.