At JobTrain’s 2013 Winter Wonderland event, staff transformed two rooms into a magical place for the children of our students and our Child Development Center. One JobTrain student in particular caught my eye. He arrived with his two young children and was clearly having a great time. He grabbed my hand, and said, “soon you’ll be ringing that job bell for me. I couldn’t have done it without JobTrain.” I’m hopeful for him, but concerned for the hundreds of those who have either given up hope of finding a job or who have not yet found their way to us.
It has been my pleasure to meet with many people in the JobTrain family over the past six months. Everyone tells me how important it is for our community and our country to find ways to sustain and grow JobTrain’s reach and impact to help bridge the opportunity divide.
As we consider how to meet this growing need, we have been looking at organizations throughout the Bay Area and across the country that work to help people seeking employment. What we’ve found won’t surprise our long-time supporters. There are unique qualities about JobTrain’s programs and services that contribute to our students’ success. These include the broad scope of our training and supportive services, working with people without a high school diploma and training people currently in jail through San Mateo County’s work furlough program. We truly help those most in need to succeed.
As we begin the countdown to our 50th Anniversary, we are considering how we can build on JobTrain’s unique services and impact, and find new paths to sustainability by collaborating with potential partners in the US and internationally.
We hope to see you at our Breakfast of Champions on May 9th to celebrate with our students and hear more about our strategy for the future (to register for this event, please click HERE). In the meantime, we’d love it if you would join us by participating in our “Building the Future” survey by clicking HERE. We look forward to you sharing your thoughts as we develop new strategies and our action plan. Please note: The deadline for completing this survey is Wednesday, April 23, 2014.
Our students and our community are counting on you. If you would like to contact me directly, I’m always happy to hear from you.
Nora Sobolov
Executive Director