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By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

Kelsey’s Place in Clanton offers GED testing services on Fridays as of Jan. 13.

According to Kelsey’s Place employee Betty Tidwell, the nonprofit has been working to set up GED testing for two years.

“We’re pretty excited about it. It’s a good opportunity I think for Chilton County and the surrounding counties,” Tidwell said. “There was nowhere local that [people] could actually come and take the test. For some people, transportation is not easy.”

Kelsey’s Place recently finished its certification to administer the GED test. It is certified to administer tests to six individuals at a time, and Tidwell said the center would be closed to the public on testing days to minimize distractions.

“It took us a while to [get certified], but we finally managed to get it done. It didn’t happen overnight, trust me,” Tidwell said. “I feel like the GED testing was much needed in our county.”

According to Tidwell, Kelsey’s Place often receives news of openings for workers. Sometimes she is able to recommend a worker, but sometimes there aren’t any who meet the qualifications.

“Unless they want to do fast food and they don’t want to do anything but just the regular cashier, cook, whatever … a diploma or a GED helps them to be able to move up wherever they’re working. They’ve got an opportunity for advancement that way,” Tidwell said.

The valuable job-hunting resource has received donations and assistance from multiple local agencies to help it achieve this goal.

Tidwell said Community Action, the Chilton County Coalition and 205 Computer Guy helped prepare Kelsey’s Place for GED test administration through donated time and money.

To learn more about Kelsey’s Place and its services, visit its Facebook page or call 205-755-7101.