PUEBLO — After raising thousands of dollars in the last two years, Pueblo's "30" club is getting the chance to donate the funds to District 70 and Pueblo County High School.
“To watch myself go through our education system, being supported by various people in this community and now being in the shoes to give back and be able to give back and pay that forward to the next generation means the world to us," said Nick O'quin, the former President of the "30" club.
On March 31st the club will deliver two checks for $20,000 dollars to help fund a financial literacy program in District 70, and the Academy of Manufacturing, Agriculture, and Construction (AMAC) program at Pueblo County High School.
“I’m the owner of a window and door business here in town, so we are very much in need of a strong labor pool," said O'Quin.
After many years of heavily focused STEM education, communities are realizing the importance of hands-on skills before students graduate from high school.
AMAC is aimed at preparing high school student with workforce skills that will provide pathways to high-demand career in Pueblo.
“A trade is a good thing for kids that don’t want to go to college, that don’t want to sit in a classroom for another four years. They want to work with their hands,” said Enrique Reza Martinez, a senior at Pueblo County High School with a plumbing apprenticeship planned after graduation.
“It’s something that I like to do ever since I was little, I like to work with my hands.”
Martinez says funds, like the ones donated by the club, are essential to producing more young adults in Pueblo workforce.
“Once we learn, we can then show other people, and so on!”
The "30" Clubis made up of 30 men in their 30's whose mission is "to contribute to a better quality of life in Pueblo".
