ResourcesCan You Make Do on Minimum Wage?
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Middle College students at Pickens Technical College learn more than just English and Math. They also learn about helping others in their community.
It all started with their Language Arts class reading the book, Nickel and Dimed, about a journalist who decided to test whether it was possible to survive on minimum wage. It really wasn’t possible, but students couldn’t seem to personally relate to the author’s financial struggles.
One night soon after they finished their book, the classroom instructor Joan Kniss saw a 9News report highlighting Colfax Community Network (CCN), a nonprofit organization that serves the motel-dwelling families along Colfax Avenue in Aurora. The mission of CCN is to serve families who are struggling in much the same way as those in Nickel and Dimed.
CCN’s Director Brooke Davidson came to speak to the class about the Network. When the Middle College students learned about the plight of young children trapped in their families’ poverty cycles, they finally began to understand the grim ramifications of living on minimum wage or very low pay. After Davidson spoke about CCN’s services and their ongoing needs, the class brainstormed ways they could help the Network.
Ultimately, Middle College students spearheaded a campus-wide donation drive asking Pickens Technical College students and staff to bring in food, clothing and toiletries. The theme they used was: Can YOU “Make Do” on $7.02? (Colorado’s current minimum wage). At the end of the two-week donation drive, students personally delivered their pickup-load-and-a-half of goods to the Community Network’s headquarters.
Middle College students explain how this project impacted their views:
“It made me grateful for what I have and want to help more.”
- Sierra Morales“This project made me more aware that there are so many people in need right here in our community.”
-Samantha Robbins“It gave me more insight on the difficulties of living off of minimum wage and the hardships that some people have to go through.”
-Analisa Coffrin
Learn more about the Colfax Community Network at www.colfaxcommunitynetwork.org.
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