Spring 2011

Building Blocks Program Youth Summit

Empowering Our Youth

Work experience is important to building a successful future. The Employment Connection Youth Employment Summit gave youth ages 15 1/2 to 17 the opportunity to interact with a variety of community resources and employers. The summit was held Friday April 22, 2011 at the Science Centers Taylor Community Resource Center. Participants from St. Louis Health Department, St. Louis Community Credit Union, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, St. Louis Fire Department, St. Patrick Center, Teen Swag USA, Women In Trade, St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, Scott Joplin House and McDonalds were in attendance. Topics

presented during the youth summit ranged from professionalism, entrepreneurship to health screenings. An outcome from the Youth Summit was that partnerships with employers and collaborations with other agencies were formed. The goal of the youth who attended was to get hired,

gain valuable work experience, build character and be a positive force in their community. Youth are now employed and will work throughout the summer. Thank you to GIA Development Corporation and HDC for funding this project.

THANK YOU MIKEN TECHNOLOGIES!!!

In 2010 Employment Connection faced a major crisis with its technology infrastructure. Several computer servers had malfunctioned and most of the staff workstations were outdated by 7 years or more. The Greater St. Louis Empowerment Zone funded Project e3 and with this support our agency was able to install a more modern environment. Staff and clients are now able to work more efficiently and success is more attainable. The challenge was actually implementing the project. Miken Technologies did a tremendous job helping us with the transformation to a more service friendly environment. All staff workstations were updated and upgraded, the Client Resource Rooms were revamped with new technology (one of the classrooms now have an overhead projector for a more modern learning environment) and all of the outdated servers were replaced. To show their continued support for our mission, Mike Smith from Miken recently presented a $2,000 check to the Employment Connection staff to support our mission.

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A message From the CEO Brenda Mahr

VETERANS SERVED AT EMPLOYMENT CONNECTION

How much is too much? How much is too little? So often our veterans return to the States feeling alone and unappreciated. I know because Ive spoken to so many of them. To quote Maya Angelou, "How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" It is important, to be sure, but more than that, we need to help them regain their rightful place in society. Last year over 300 veterans entered our programs, most of them either homeless or near homeless and all of them, unemployed!! Many required services including counseling and suicide prevention, healthcare, legal, transportation, housing, and other support services, prior to enrolling them in job readiness and placement services. The need is great, but dont we owe them a hand up to start over not a hand out that keeps them dependent upon programs for their very survival? Yes, it takes resources, but again, how much or how little do we owe them for helping to keep us free? We extend our grateful appreciation to our donors who help keep our doors open. And to over 80 employers who hired nearly 135 veterans. The Employment Connection and the veterans we serve remain strong and viable because of your support.

SUCCESS!!
H AR O LD FI EL DS A H OM EL ES S V ET ER AN REINT ER GR AT I ON P RO GR AM SUCCE SS ST OR Y

Harold is a veteran of the US Army. He served during the Desert Storm conflict. He was deployed to Iraq for (6) months. Harold is a St. Louis native and was previously employed as an Environmental Specialist. His compa-

ny laid him off and he was unable to secure work in his field. Due to his unemployment, Harold became homeless and would remain in that situation for seven months. He was referred to EC by Mr. Eugene Fowler, Senior Manager, Career Services while attending a job service program and thus he enrolled in the Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program (HVRP). In awaiting interviews and continuously seeking work he volunteered at Employment Connection (EC) working in the resource room, front desk, retention work and with Steve Hoven, Manager, Career Services.

Harold, received assistance from Back to Health/Back to Work and his Career Specialist, Preston Vanderford. In doing so he is now employed with Habitat for Humanity full time as a Restore Associate. His very first desire was to continue to give back to EC for all the assistance he received. At his work site he arranged for an expensive donated refrigerator to be purchased by EC at a nominal cost thus saving the agency money. He personally delivered the refrigerator to EC.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Employment Connection Under a New Roof

Thanks to a contribution from the St. Louis Mental Health Boards Capital Improvement Funding Initiative, Employment Connection will replace a large section of damaged roof covering about twothirds of the building. Having a

safe and secure site is essential as clients come every day to seek assistance from our agency. The new roof will be finished by the end of the summer and will allow more resources to be committed to programming for clients. We

thank the St. Louis Mental Health Board for their investment and look forward to serving thousands of St. Louis City residents inside our great facility.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Cooks Who Care feeds 500 people

In the Spring of 2010, some of our staff noticed that very few clients would eat lunch despite being at the agency all day for training and assistance. As a result Employment Connection launched Cooks Who Care, a new volunteer program to engage members of the St. Louis Community to provide a nutritious meal for exoffenders, homeless veterans and other residents looking for a second chance to become self-sufficient. Volunteers prepare a
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simple sack-lunch, usually for 25-30 people, and drop the food off on Tuesdays or Wednesdays before noon. Last month our caring cooks prepared the 500th lunch for our clients! Employment Connection would like to say a BIG thanks to the following volunteers who made this

possible: Catherine Davis, Chris Lester, Chad Welch, Kari Agnew, Margaret Young and the staff from UMB Bank. For more information on volunteering for this program, please visit the Volunteer section of our website: www.employmentstl.org

Save the Date

Agency Needs.
Lunch for Clients (see story on pg. 3) Graphic Designer Volunteers for mock job interviews Flash drives for clients Reading materials for the lobby area

EC Board of Directors Meeting

Friday, June 17, 2011 at 12 noon

EC Advisory Council Meeting

Friday, June 24, 2011 at 9 am

EC Social Networking
August 2011 (event and date forthcoming)

Agency Closed
Monday May 30, 2011 Monday July 4, 2011

Facts & Figures

Facts & Figures January 2011 Employment Connection changed the orientation schedule for clients. Clients have to call to schedule an intake. Clients call (314) 333-JOBS to schedule the intake date which includes the start of the job readiness class the World of Work. The World of Work is a three to four day class. Clients have a videotaped role play job interview during the class. This allows the clients to see themselves as an employer would see them. Emphasis of the World of Work is to assist clients in preparing to seek and maintain employment. When clients complete the World of Work they are assigned to Career Specialists to provide additional support as the clients seek employment. Statistics for January through March 2011 Orientations 296 Admissions 234 Completions 196 Job Placements 90 Thank you to the various employers who have hired clients during the first quarter of 2011.
2838 Market St., St. Louis, MO 63103 Phone: (314) 333-JOBS (5627) Fax: (314) 333-3627

www.employmentstl.org
Editorial Staff Co-Editors: Veronica Travis travisv@employmentstl.org Pat Brown brownp@employmentstl.org Contributors: Brenda Mahr Dave Dietrich Veronica Travis Pat Brown

Thank you to all the supporters of Employment Connection!

Empower, Inspire, Employ

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