CSET

 

1976

Self-Help Enterprises "spins off" Self-Help Training and Employment to provide youth employment training and rural community services. First Chairman of the Board: Joe Friedman.

 

 

1984

Self-Help Training and Employment becomes Community Services & Employment Training (CSET), taking on the role as Tulare County's community action agency.

 

 

1985

CSET begins Senior Jobs to focus on benefits of hiring older workers and Work Opportunities for Women to meet the needs of displaced homemakers.

 

 

1986

CSET creates the Tulare County Conservation Corps (Youth Corps) to serve young people who want to continue their education and prepare for work.

 

 

1992

Sequoia SSTARS is born of a partnership with Sequoia National Forest and Porterville High School. New Traditions for Women is created to support women seeking nontraditional careers.

 

 

1993

CSET, Sequoia National Forest and Tulare County Private Industry Council receive NACo Excellence Award for Sequoia SSTARS program.

 

 

1994

CSET joins pro-youth collaborative to begin renewal of community action in North Visalia at family and neighborhood levels.

 

 

1995

YouthBuild funded by HUD for CSET and SHE to teach youth to build homes. CSET and Tulare Adult School partner to provide a learning center and literacy educaton in Tulare.

 

 

1996

CSET starts Mentors Matter collaborative.

 

 

1997

California Wellness Foundation funds Goshen Planning Council. CSET creates Community Initiatives Department to target community building. CSET and KCAO submit Empowerment Zone II application.

 

 

1998

USDA designates Tulare County Champion Communities. CSET and Champion Communities get to work on a shoestring budget but with high spirits and much success.

 

National Association of Counties gives two awards to CSET and partner, Tulare County Private Industry Council:  Workforce Development Awards for Excellence for "Got a Job!" and for New Traditions for Women.

 

1999    

CSET partners with Pixley School District to operate after school programs and later with school districts of Cutler-Orosi and Tipton.

 

Tulare County Youth Corps is the first Conservation Corps in California to open a recycling redemption center, the Goshen Recycling Center.

 

2000

CSET funded to operate Gang Violence Reduction Project with partners Probation, Sheriff, Ivanhoe Youth Center, and Tulare County Housing Authority.

 

 

2001

Champion Communities and CSET participate in Empowerment Zone III application. CSET celebrates 25th Anniversary. YouthBuild completes 20th home.

 

 

2002

National Association of Service and Conservation Corps recognizes CSET Corps with the Excellence in Corps Operations designation, after a week-long evaluation of our Corps.  The Cutler-Orosi Chamber of Commerce recognizes CSET as its 2002 Business of the Year.

 

 

2003

CSET and its Junior Leadership groups spearhead community improvement projects in 17 unincorporated communities on Make A Difference Day, working among 1,162 youth and adult volunteers.

 

 

2004

CSET's Tulare County Youth Corps completes Park Bond projects: 25 parks enhanced or created; 7 communities gained clean, safe places for children, families, and neighborhoods to play; 200 trees planted; and 60 corpsmembers gained education, workplace skills, and construction and landscape training.

 

 

2005

CSET moves into a new Visalia headquarters, built in part by a State Park Bond, the first in the City of Visalia's North Visalia Community Campus for City and service organizations. CSET launches E-Recycling Solutions, a social enterprise, collecting 166 tons of electronic waste in its first 6 months of operation.

 

The Tipton Town Council honors CSET as its 2005 Organization of the Year. CSET responds to local business needs by crafting FastMath Passport, a web-based accelerated Math tutorial for helping job applicants master basic math skills required by employers. Tulare County Youth Corps receives Friends of SCICON Award.

 

2006

CSET trains Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) volunteers, who helped more than 300 low-income residents access their Earned Income Tax Credit.

 

Tulare County Youth Corps opens recycling redemption center in Exeter. TCYC’s Michael Taylor receives NASCC’s Corpsmember of the Year from among 59 U.S. Corps. CSET holds first Valentine fundraiser, raising $10,000 for the Junior Leadership program.