Make the Most Out of Your YellaBucksSM With YellaSource®
YellaSource® is more than just using your 1.5% rewards on approved YellaWood® brand purchases for tools, training and apparel. With YellaSource®, there are several ways you can redeem your credits, including giving back to the community.
One YellaSource® contractor, Abe Oeltjen, president of Austin Deck Company and the 2024 Deck Specialist of the Year, is dedicated to giving back to help keep career and technical education (CTE) trades at the top of mind for future generations. As a member of NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry), Abe serves on a board for local community development, where he gives back in several ways, including recruiting new NARI members to talk to the upcoming generation of workforce members, specifically in CTE trades such as welding, engineering, architecture, and more.
Building Up and Breaking Barriers
Abe is dedicated to keeping the CTE workforce alive as well as giving back to teachers who teach those classes through grants where teachers can apply for supplies, receive plans and projects, and help come up with content, giving them more time and resources for lesson planning and gaining access to the tools they need to complete lessons. Through this program, two $5,000 scholarships are awarded each year to students looking to pursue careers in CTE trades and have so far been awarded to students pursuing interior design, welding, and more.
Last year, Abe elected to use his YellaBucksSM to cover the cost of teaching students at Glenn High School in Leander, Texas, how to construct a deck. During the first of three class visits, Abe taught the students the basics of engineering plans, designs and project planning. As for the second visit, he went into further detail on the steps for building a deck and also left them with supplies needed to begin the construction of the deck, such as joist hangers to help get the deck ready to build. Abe then returned and worked with the students to build a frame and deck using YellaWood® brand products he purchased by redeeming his YellaBucksSM.
Paying it Forward and Inspiring Future Generations
The students, with their hard work and dedication, went on to construct a tiny house, including the completion of windows and electric work, and paid it forward by donating the project to someone in need. Abe’s time and effort by using his own experience, as well as time with a professional in the industry, is a true testament to someone giving back to help keep CTE trades at the top of mind for future leaders in the workforce.
For more information about the YellaSource® program and the ways you can redeem your YellaBucksSM, please visit yellasource.com.
