A summer jobs program designed to teach employable skills to older teens and young adults in Clark County wrapped up last week with a celebratory cookout at the Petticrew House.

Opportunities for Individual Change’s Summer Youth Employment program provided paid summer work for about 100 16-year-olds to adults in their 20s whose families are eligible for the federal TANF program.

“This brings new money into economically-distressed households,” OIC Executive Director Mike Calabrese said.

OIC partnered with the Department of Jobs and Family Services of Clark County to determined worker eligibility and with 10 public and nonprofit agencies throughout the county that provided work. It was paid for through funds from the Workforce Investment Act, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and other streams, Calabrese said.

Several projects — including brush and storm damage clearing, office work, maintenance and landscaping for Clark County public and nonprofit agencies, were conducted from June 1 through mid-August around Clark County.

One saw the installation of a fence around the site of a previously unmarked cemetery behind the OIC-owned Stanley Petticrew Jr. House, 825 E. McCreight Ave.

Participants also prepped the site for a new monument designating the cemetery, likely an early 1900s burial site for indigent children who died of tuberculosis, project foreman Gary Anderson said.

Older participants worked Tuesday with Anderson to even out pavers on a walkway leading to the house and install and mulch landscaping.

“The program teaches kids how to find work and stay employed and how to have employable skills,” he said. “They start with no skills and a few of them are now employed.”

The 1927 house was donated to OIC in 2008 by Petticrew when his mother and the home’s owner, Mary Petticrew, died.

Workers at Snyder Park received professional certifications in lawnmower safety, emergency weather safety, first aid and OSHA Workplace Safety Training, according to Calabrese.

Tyree Morgan, 17, a Springfield resident who graduated high school at age 16, said he learned a variety of skills while working for the Springfield Metropolitan Housing Authority that he will apply to a future career in manufacturing and engineering.

SMHA Community Service Director Jennifer Powell said leaders intentionally had Morgan and other workers learn computer, building maintenance, lawn care and other skills related to the agency’s operations so they’ll have a well-rounded resume and knowledge base.

Morgan plans to apply for a scholarship to Central State University.

Participants worked about six hours per day at $8 to $10 per hour.