CLIMB Wyoming, a non-profit organization that has helped low-income single mothers train for and find careers that help support their families for thirty years, was recognized for its selfless service to the community last week.

The Laramie office of Climb Wyoming received the Jim Cavalli Service to Others award at Thursday's Laramie Chamber Business Alliance annual banquet in the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center.

Program Director Katie Hogarty says the organization only operates in Wyoming, but is recognized as one of the top ten programs nationwide for moving families out of poverty.

"The magic sauce is that we provide a whole host of lifeskills training in addition to that job skills training," says Hogarty. "So our participants learn budgeting, parenting, relationship skills, conflict resolution; they also participate in group and individual counseling."

"So a whole host of job skills together with life skills are what we do in our training program," says Hogarty.

Hogarty says CLIMB Wyoming recently placed a mother in an HVAC service position with Aspen Valley Heating and Air Conditioning -- the first time a program participant has been placed in that type of job.

Hogarty says the company was so taken with the quality of that mother's character and job performance that they approached CLIMB Wyoming last fall and offered to partner with the group to train ten more women to fill HVAC technician jobs.

"We're looking at doing a heating, ventilation and air conditioning training for our next program," says Hogarty. "Those are higher-paying industrial jobs, so getting our women those skills to be able to be successful in those jobs is really exciting."

"We haven't done anything like that in Laramie yet, so we updated them on the new training that we're doing," says Hogarty.

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