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Izameke Legagneur dropped out of high school a few years ago. But thanks to a local organization, he is working toward his goal of attending trade school for electrician and HVAC work.

Legagneur is one of the local young adults who gain work experience through community service in the New Jersey Youth Corps. The Corps is a division of the state Department of Labor, and is sponsored by Interfaith Neighbors. This morning, volunteers and staff members from the Youth Corps installed 120 feet of fencing around the dune system at North End beach.

“I wanted to get involved [in the Youth Corps] for my individual self,” Legagneur said. “They’re giving us everything we need in life — all the skills, all the academics.”

Legagneur dropped out of high school several years ago but thanks to the Youth Corps, he should have his GED by June. He expects to start trade school soon after.

The Youth Corps’ goal is “to give dignity and respect back to a young person,” said Ed Feger, a Corps staffer. They help people ages 16 through 25 who have dropped out of high school and need to get back on their feet.

The Youth Corps will perform community service for any nonprofit entity, such as an organization or city. This community service translates into work experience for the participants.

“They hire people to do this, and we’re doing it for free,” Legagneur said. “It’s a skill you can put down on your résumé.”

Youth Corps staff also help assist the volunteers with career options if any of the community service activities especially pique their interest, Legagneur said.

“It’s a great staff,” he said. “They’re here for you, and you’re here for you. It’s up to you if you want to take their resources to your highest point of achievement.”

The Youth Corps employs five staff members to assist the 15 to 18 young people who come through the program at a time. The Youth Corps operates on a quarterly basis, so four groups of young people participate each year.

“These youths are high school dropouts who don’t have any jobs,” said Pete Cheney, a Youth Corps staffer. “They’re kind of just hanging out with no direction and they get to a point in their lives where they decide they have to make a change.”

The nonprofit group the Youth Corps served this morning was Surfers Environmental Alliance [SEA], a bi-coastal organization. Richard Lee, a member of SEA, was on hand to show the Youth Corps members how to install the dune fencing.

The project was the idea of Jerry Matthews, a local surfer who has served on the board of SEA, Lee said.

“He called me one day and said it would be a good idea to put up some snow fence to keep trash from going into the dunes,” Lee said. “We were looking for local issues to work on and it seemed like a good idea.”

The city introduced Lee to Joyce Grant, a local citizen and founder of Citizens for Oceanfront Preservation. Grant set Lee up with the Youth Corps.

“It’s a real collaborative effort,” Lee said.

SEA decided to install the fencing because this is the only time of year dune grass can be planted, Lee said. A separate group of volunteers and students from 10 Monmouth County schools planted the dune grass last weekend (click here for that story).

The fencing is also being erected in time for the Bamboozle music festival, set for May 18 through 20. The festival is expected to attract thousands of people to the boardwalk. A festival stage will be constructed on North End beach.

“The dunes are not located within the designated festival grounds and all festival events will take place south of the dunes,” according to Jenna Roper, a spokeswoman of festival organizer LiveNation.

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