CARES Career Connection is Honored with
Maryland ABCD Network Award of Excellence

On October 8, 2009, GEDCO and the Caroline Center were honored with the Maryland ABCD Network Award of Excellence for their collaboration that created the CARES Career Connection program. This statewide award was received for the exemplary model of partnership in designing and implementing CARES Career Connection.

During its first year of operation, CARES Career Connection accomplished the following:  

Intake interviews: 116

Linkages to other services: 59

Resumes completed: 77

Jobs obtained: 38

49% of engaged participants already have found employment!

("engaged participants" return after intake and complete a resume)

CARES Career Connection is an employment assistance and mentoring program that provides individualized help to enable people to obtain and keep jobs. It is a collaboration between CARES food pantry and emergency assistance center, which is a program of GEDCO, and the Caroline Center, a program based in East Baltimore that helps women acquire the discipline, knowledge and skills necessary to find work in a career with the potential for advancement. CARES Career Connection is targeted to CARES visitors who initially come with financial crises, yet have the desire and the ability to pursue long-term self-sufficiency through employment.

With start-up financial support from Second Presbyterian Church, GEDCO and the Caroline Center were able to join together in a collaborative partnership that met both organizations’ goals while reaching a greater number of people in a more effective manner than either organization could achieve on its own. The Caroline Center brought its expertise in job counseling and its connections with local employers, while CARES brought its relationships with individuals who were truly ready to benefit from the service and its ability to recruit, train, and retain volunteer mentors.

CARES and the Caroline Center share a staff person who divides her time between the Caroline Center and the CARES Career Connection programs. CARES volunteers, through their usual work of interviewing visitors to help meet emergency needs, identify potential participants for the CARES Career Connection program. If individuals are interested in participating, they are paired with a mentor help them define and accomplish the appropriate next steps for their personal situation, whether it is enrolling in classes, developing a resume, or something as basic as securing a picture ID or finding housing. Once any hurdles to employment have been overcome, the mentor coaches the individual on how to carry out job searches, land an interview and be successful in an interview. After the individual gains a job, the mentor stays in touch to encourage the person to do what it takes to stay employed and to offer advice on any challenging situations. For volunteer oppurtunities, please contact Rachael Neill at rneill@gedco.org.

Congratulations to both GEDCO and The Caroline Center - and, most importantly, to all of the hard-working program participants who make CARES Career Connection a success!