HARVEST – Christian Women’s Job Corps of Madison County Inc. has opened a new office in Harvest to reach women of all ages to reach their goals for education and job placement.

Coordinators will host a ribbon cutting for Christian Women’s Job Corps on Feb. 20 from 4 to 4:30 p.m. The new site’s address is 8089 Wall Triana, which is in Harvest about 4.9 miles north of U.S. 72.

Opening the Harvest branch resulted after the job corps’ board of directors has ways to increase attendance for the greater Madison area. “A target area is Harvest and the surrounding rural communities,” Susan Elder said. Elder works as Site Coordinator for Asbury Church Harvest.

“The corps board recommended pursuing a site that could offer a classroom, preferably in the northwest area of Madison County. Asbury Church Harvest has agreed to partner with us,” Elder said.

“In God’s timing, (Asbury leaders) had just attended the New Room Conference, (which) presented the issue of church buildings standing empty during the week and how to better utilize the space with local missions,” Elder said. 

The idea for Christian Women’s Job Corps began in 1994 when the Women’s Missionary Union discussed the development of a program targeting needs of women in poverty. The union already had established a rich history of missions and ministry.

To research their idea, a group of women from the job corps visited the Appalachian region of the United States. They discovered that women help women by mentoring them, and both individuals experience a life change. These events led to founding Christian Women’s Job Corps, now with 200 sites in several states.

The White House recognized the corps in 1999 as a viable program for assisting women in transition from welfare to work. In 2004, the first site for Christian Men’s Job Corps opened in San Angelo, Texas to address similar needs for men.

Office hours for Asbury Church Harvest are Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For information about the ribbon cutting, email to Elaine Dickson at edickson@cwjc.net or visit weareasbury.com/harvest. For more facts about the corps, call 256-886-2280 or visit cwjc.net or Facebook/Christian Women’s Job Corps.