Career fair culminates ‘Community Development Week’
By Meliqueica Meadows
Of The St. Louis American
In collaboration with St. Louis Agency on Training & Employment, Employment Connection, Community Renewal and Development, Inc. and the Human Development Corporation, the Monsanto Family YMCA hosted a Career & Community Development Fair on Friday.
With employers like Wal-Mart, Sodexho and AT&T present, the fair drew around 200 people.
Stephanie Jackson, a 42-year-old mother of five and grandmother of three, stopped by the fair in search of a career change.
“I wanted to be a part of it,” she said. “I like black people helping black people.”
With dozens of local companies in attendance, Jackson said she was “very impressed with the representation. It was very widespread.”
After speaking with representatives from several companies, Jackson was hopeful.
“I don’t want to be in a dead-end job forever,” she said. “I want a job that I can enjoy where I will want to get up and go to work everyday.”
The single mother is currently enrolled in a free Basic Training Course (BTC) at the Urban League where she is brushing up on computer software skills.
“As you get on up in age, you lose those skills,” she said. “As a single parent trying to find a job, I love that I don’t have to pay money out to try to enhance myself.”
Nineteen-year-old Lamar Harris also came to the career fair in hopes of pursuing his future entrepreneurial goals. A student at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park and aspiring music producer, Harris said he is looking for a regular gig to fund his love of music and his production company, Hard Beats.
“My grandmother is a Monsanto (YMCA) member, and she told me about the career fair,” he said. “It helps people that can’t get out (of the community) to find work.”
Helping people find work is just one of the many ways Better Family Life, Inc. is assisting the community. Angela Pierce manned the organization’s table and spoke with job seekers. She said Better Family Life wanted to participate in the career fair, “because we need to have a strong presence in the community.”
She said, “People need to know what we have to offer.”
In terms of employment, Better Family Life offers Project Respect – a six-12 week job-readiness program that prepares participants for the workforce.
“We place people in $9-an-hour jobs and above,” Pierce said.
The program also provides graduates with case managers to follow them once they’ve been placed in a job.
“The program runs out of the MET Center, and another program runs out of our Illinois office in the East St. Louis area,” Pierce said. “We have had over 100 cycles graduate from the program.”
Sponsored by the Monsanto YMCA in conjunction with the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE), Employment Connection, Community Renewal and Development, Inc., Alderman Mike McMillian and the Human Development Corporation, the career fair was the culmination of a week of activities at the Monsanto YMCA which included
job-readiness workshops on appropriate attire, resume writing, application skills and interviewing.
The Monsanto Family YMCA, 5555 Page Blvd., serves more than 4,000 members in North St. Louis.
For more information about the Monsanto Family YMCA, call (314) 367-4646.