The Natchitoches Parish Library has received a $7,000 grant from the Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund to support Classroom to Career Pathways, a workforce development initiative.
Jessica McGrath, Director of the Natchitoches Parish Library, said, “The library is excited to bring this workforce development initiative to the Parish and is looking forward to collaboration between the Library, Natchitoches Chamber of Commerce, Bossier Parish Community College, Natchitoches Parish School Board, Boys and Girls Club of Acadiana, Ben D. Johnson Education Center, and Northwestern State University to impact students.”
Funds will be used to circulate a collection of Transfr Virtual Reality headsets, providing hands-on simulation training in an immersive learning environment to students throughout the Parish, giving them real-world experiences in the critical skills they need for well-paying, in-demand jobs. The Transfr headsets are organized by discipline, taking existing workplace environments, and replicating it into VR, mimicking all aspects, equipment, and potential scenarios that employees are faced with in their day-to-day jobs through an in-depth design and development process. Students are guided by a digital coach and receive expert, personal instruction that teaches them how to perform essential tasks, gives feedback based on their specific actions, and assesses their performance to help them improve.
“The instruction offered through the Transfr headsets aims to improve our local workforce through the classroom-to-careers simulation pathways, training the next generation of workers for jobs across every industry,” Director McGrath said.
More information on Transfr VR is available at https://transfrinc.com/.
In both rural and urban settings, the Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund supports hundreds of important organizations and programs in the communities where they operate with funding, time, expertise and resources. Weyerhaeuser made its first charitable donation in 1903 and has provided more than $255 million in grants through its formal giving program, which was established in 1948.
More information on the Weyerhaeuser grant application process is available online at www.WY.com
About the Natchitoches Parish Library
Knowledge. Connection. Community. The Natchitoches Parish Library serves the public and community through its competent and friendly staff by providing services and programs aimed at meeting the informational, recreational, and educational needs of our patrons. We seek to provide a beneficial and usable collection of information and activities to connect Natchitoches Parish residents to the world.
About Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world’s largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900. We own or control approximately 11 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and manage additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. We manage these timberlands on a sustainable basis in compliance with internationally recognized forestry standards. We are also one of the largest manufacturers of wood products in America. Our company is a real estate investment trust. In 2021, we generated $10.2 billion in net sales and employed approximately 9,400 people who serve customers worldwide. Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WY. Learn more at www.weyerhaeuser.com.
