On April 25, the CanTeen Council presented its first job and resource fair to the community. This event expanded well beyond our expectations, and we are so grateful to our business partners and the community of Canton for making it a huge success!
We achieved our goal of bringing local businesses and the teens of Canton together for jobs and professional development opportunities. Participants included local businesses, government agencies, universities and restaurants. We also had several volunteer opportunities for teens to get involved with.
Canton teens left the event with lots of goodies; many walked away with a summer job. The benefits of attending did not end there. JKing Images was on-site, offering professional headshots for free. City Council member Will Carlan provided resume help.
While we thoroughly enjoyed planning and presenting this event, true success is measured by what our participants (businesses and teens) thought. So, of course, we asked, and here is what we learned. Local businesses and organizations made valuable connections within the community. Several companies actually filled the majority of their staffing needs. And CanTeens gained insight into exciting opportunities available right here in our community.
If you missed out on this job fair, don’t worry! We hope to continue this event in the future as we definitely missed out on a few partnerships. We have some interesting ideas for improving this great event. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact the CanTeen Council via email (canteen@cantonga.gov) or on any social media platform (@cantoncanteen). We can’t wait to see CanTeen grow!
– Sophia Melbourne is a CanTeen council member and a rising senior at Cherokee High School.
Job Fair Participants
• City of Canton Parks and Recreation
• City of Canton Public Works
• Cherokee Office of Economic Development
• Cherokee Aquatic Center
• Cherokee Recreation and Parks
• YMCA Canton
• Community Burger
• Waffle House
• Chick-fil-A
• History Cherokee
• Southeastern Guide Dogs
• Senior Helpers of North GA
• 1-800-Packouts
• Nothing Bundt Cakes
• Play Nation
• Sequoyah Regional Library System
• Roytec Industries
• Kennesaw State University
• Austin Technology Group
• KidCam Camps
• Once Upon a Child
• Universal Alloy
• Atlanta Warehouse Solutions
• Reinhardt University
• Sweet Joy Ice Cream
• Bizarre Coffee
• Northside Hospital Cherokee
One Teen’s Search for a Job
For many years, students and teens from all over our city have struggled in the search to find a fitting job. However, recently, the Canton Job Fair has helped solve this problem for many of the youth. When first walking into City Hall, one was met with the sight of more than 25 booths. From volunteering to raising a service dog to working at Chick-fil-A, it was guaranteed your teen would find something to interest and suit them.
Walking in, it was slightly overwhelming to see all the choices. The entire room was full of smiling faces ready to help guests find a job that will be right for them. As a teen, I have had a challenging time connecting and networking to find a position of work. However, meeting and conversing with many companies really furthered my search. I found many booths that held my interest and applied to a few. The employers were all exceedingly kind and inviting.
On top of all the exciting booths, there also was a headshot station. Teens could line up to get professional pictures for free! The photographer (Jerry King of JKing Images) came up with many different tricks to help the client look as charming as ever.
In addition to these, there was a raffle. Every 30 minutes that the fair was running, the host would draw a ticket from a pile to receive a gift. This all made for an incredibly fun and interesting afternoon for all guests.
– Jacqueline is a rising 10th-grader at Creekview High School. She is looking forward to finding the right job in the future.
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