Learn to Earn makes training more affordable for healthcare workers

A program at the University of Tennessee is helping low-income workers get better jobs in this tough economy.

"Learn to Earn" is making a difference for participants like Kellie Griffin.

She loves her job as a nurse in the emergency room at UT Medical Center in South Knoxville, but she faced some obstacles earning her RN degree on the way to securing that job.

"It was one of those situations where everything happened at the wrong time," said Griffin.

Her husband deployed to Iraq. Her mother-in-law had helped babysit their three children, but then she was diagnosed with cancer.

"I don't know that I would have made it," said Griffin. "It's a very realistic possibility that I would have had to drop out of school for that year and work full time or something to make ends meet until he got back."

Kellie Griffin applied for a Learn to Earn grant administered through UT WAVE, which stands for Work Achievement Values Education.

Learn to Earn supports healthcare workers with awards of up to $7,500 to help with training.

"We're really looking for that person that doesn't qualify for welfare, but they're still living on the edge of poverty," said Bethany Mincey, Director of UT WAVE.

United Way gave $200,000 to the program this year, and Knox County kicked in another $64,000. That money is enough to help 50 people with support including tuition, uniforms, and expenses while they pursue additional training.

"There's not a lot of programs that provide training for people who are working," said Mincey. "There are some programs that provide for training that are unemployed but not the working poor. So we've been bombarded with phone calls, which is a good thing."

The money helped Griffin pay for child care, repairing the transmission in her van, and even new scrubs to wear on the job.

"It was just great," said Griffin. "I don't know that I could have made it through that senior year without that grant."

Mincey said the 49 people who participated last year all succeeded in finding better paying jobs.

"We don't want to create dependency. We're trying to create independence and self sufficiency," she said.

Since earning her degree, Griffin has almost doubled her previous pay while doing a job she loves.

"I'm just loving it, absolutely loving it," said Griffin.

This is the second year UT WAVE has received a United Way grant to fund Learn to Earn.

So far, 25 people are enrolled in the program, with 50 total spots available.

If you would like to apply for a Learn to Earn grant, call 974-8163.