Six through ninth graders in Arizona's Salt River Valley are learning to use power tools and practice roofing and framing techniques to build their own lamps and construct doghouses, which will be donated to a local nonprofit group. The Rosendin Foundation, a nonprofit organization, is sponsoring TRF Camp Build to teach more than a dozen middle school students about opportunities in the skilled trades.
TRF Camp Build will also take the students to visit Meta’s Data Center in Mesa so they can learn even more about the industry, and more free camps are open for registration in a number of cities across the U.S., Arizona TV station ABC15 reports.
“Now they’re building the confidence of ‘now I know how to properly use a hammer, I don’t just like whack something’. You learn how to use a drill, it can be very intimidating,” said Jolsna Thomas with the Rosendin Foundation.
“The girls that come through this program, as well as the boys, know there’s a variety of career paths available to them,” said Thomas.