Workforce Investment Board, Partners Cited as “Champions of Compassion”

The Workforce Investment Board of Herkimer, Madison and Oneida Counties and its partners in the Second Chance Project were honored today by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI) as “champions of compassion.”

“These organizations really are ‘champions of compassion.’ Their deep commitment and caring touch make that critical difference for so many who otherwise may have fallen through the cracks— the homeless woman or drug-addicted man, the ex-offender wanting a fresh start, the single mom struggling to get off welfare. These partnerships model what a difference we can make when government joins with the unique strengths of local faith-based and community organizations to serve our neighbors in need,” said Jedd Medefind, director of the DOL’s CFBCI, who noted that the Herkimer-Madison-Oneida WIB was among 10 honored across the country for work with faith-based and community-based partners.

“We worked with the community to find the gaps that existed, and where we saw this gap, we developed a program and partnership to meet the need,” Savino said. “We knew at the beginning of this project we would have some outstanding community partners, and we are very, very grateful the Department of Labor and the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has recognized our efforts. The CFBCI has worked closely with us throughout this project, and they have been wonderfully supportive in our efforts to extend the reach of our Working Solutions system so that can help more people become employed. This project has very clearly showed that when we partner with faith-based and grassroots organizations, we can serve people in new and creative ways.”

The WIB’s project partners – all honored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives -- included: The Rescue Mission of Utica, Cosmopolitan Center, JCTOD Outreach, Hope House, Women’s Employment and Resource Center, Youth Empowerment Project and HealthFriends.

“The partnership that we have built with these agencies has allowed us to meet the needs of men and women who would never have gone to work or gone to training without the aggressive community- and person-focused efforts of our partners,” said Savino. “This project has helped people find work, but it has also developed collaborations that can endure to help change the community long after the grant funding is gone. We not only thank the Department of Labor’s Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives for their recognition of our work, but for giving us the opportunity to enhance our workforce development system through partnerships with faith-based and grassroots partners in our community.”

Savino said the WIB received a $499,000 grant in July of 2005 to help area residents with involvement in the justice system get the training they needed to find work, retain work, and avoid further involvement with the justice system.

In the course of the 18-month project, more than 600 people interacted with project staff to receive training or referrals, and about 200 were placed in employment.

Savino said the project’s achievements transcend numbers.

“For us, Second Chance has been a catalyst that has allowed us to extend community partnerships in ways we never could have attempted. It was designed to bring together grassroots partners with a mission of service to serve a population whose unmet needs for employment are not only a barrier to their recovery, but also to the future of their children. Long after the people we served have settled into their jobs, the WIB’s goal has been and still is that the partnership formed by this project will be giving a second chance to people in need of jobs and hope. Because of our work together, with the help of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, we will be making life better for people with the odds against them and giving them the opportunity they deserve to rebuild their lives.”