Women in community Service (WICS) is concerned with girls and social ladder. This common concern brought together WICS volunteers in an interdenominational and interracial effort to recruit and screen high school graduates and dropouts for the Women’ Job Corps.

Atlanta’s WICS center opened two years ago and “began as a crash program,” said Mrs. George J. Gunning. “The girls have no confidence in us or in themselves when they come in—it is rewarding to see them so eager to break the cycle of poverty.”

Applicants are interviewed at the Atlanta center, 136 Marietta St., N.W., or by WIC volunteers who travel the state in a mobile unit. “We ask them a million questions,” said Mrs. Jean Weaver, program director. Questions range from home background and education, to medical histories and I.Q. tests. Qualified applicants are placed in Women’s’ Job Corps centers scattered across the country from Poland Springs, Maine, to Los Angeles, Calif.

The largest group of enrollees—20 girls—left Atlanta recently for centers in Clifton, Iowa and McKinney, Tex. The girls were from LaGrange, Griffin, and the Atlanta area. “It was hectic around here that day,” Mrs. Weaver said.

Mrs. R.L. Stephens, a member of the transportation committee, was assigned to pick up a girl at her home in Buttermilk Bottom and take her to the airport. “The girl’s mother wanted to ride along,” said Mrs. Stephens. “She was born at Grady Hospital and had lived all her life within sight of Grady. She had never seen the airport. Like so many mothers I have met, she was glad her daughter had an opportunity to get away.”

To help the girls take the opportunity, trained personnel and counselors at the centers provide programs that vary according to the needs of the individual enrollee. The day is spent in studies, vocational training, and recreational activities. There is emphasis on homemaking and personal grooming. Basic education courses prepare the corps women for high school degrees, college, business or service occupations.

Corps women at the centers are drawn together from 50 states. “Think of college girls and the problems they have adjusting and multiply it by the problems of girls from impoverished homes—this gives you some idea of the situation,” said Mrs. Weaver.

The adjustment is filled with loneliness. To encourage the girls at the centers, Mrs. Hazel Marsden, public relations director, writers monthly newsletter sharing the views of trainees from this area. “When they go off,’ she said, “we hope they will be realistic. We hope to uplift the girl, and through her, her family.”

Many groups have “adopted” corps women at the center. “We are proud of the work in the South deanery,” said Mrs. Raymond Norton, president. The WICS members send letters and packages to the girls “so they know they are remembered.” The girls return with a changed appearance, Mrs. Norton said. “They are proud of something, they often bring gifts home for their families. It is the little details that make you realize the program is worth it.”

The work of WICS members in the three ACCW deaneries involves recruitment, transportation, letter-writing, and planning parties of the girls who return. Mrs. Dorothy Briggs of Rome, GA., and Mrs. Douglas McElhinney, Dalton, GA. plan to organize a screening center in Dalton.

The WICS program is growing. Mrs. James Hickey, one of the first volunteers, said, “There is such a camaraderie, a willingness on the part of women from four organizations to work together on a community affairs project.” Mrs. Hickey is a liaison volunteer from AACCW.

Efforts of WICS have helped place 170 corps women in the job corps program, which is funded by the EOA. While they are in training, the girls receive a $30-a-month allowance. Budgeting money is a part of the program, said Mrs. Weaver. An additional $50 a month is kept in a fund for the corps woman. Under certain financial circumstances, half the amount can be sent home to help her family.

To receive full benefit from the program, the girls should stay at least a year, said Mrs. Marsden. The average training period is less than a year. WICS plans an alumnae group for the girls who return. The meetings would keep the girls together and provide social activities, she said.

“I think the alumnae idea is a good one,” said Alice Shinholster, a graduate of the Omaha center. “It would give us a chance to meet new girls and tell them about the program.” What has the job corps done for her? Miss Shinholster answered: “Deep down within, you think you can do it, but there is always so much pressure, you feel like giving up. The Job Corps pointed out to me that it doesn’t matter where you live, if you keep on, you can be great someday.”