Community Partners: Temple Chai

This is the first in a series of stories about SJN’s Community Partners. These are the individuals and organizations enabling our work.

The Start of a Meaningful Relationship

SJN has hosted its regular meetings and some special events at Temple Chai in North Phoenix since early 2007. Our connection to the temple originated through the efforts of SJN Alum Marcia Finberg, a Temple Chai congregant, who now co-leads the Tempe Career Network.

After meeting at Mountain Valley Church in North Scottsdale for a year, the church could no longer accommodate SJN’s schedule and we began looking for a new home. Because Temple Chai had previously sponsored an employment support program, Marcia thought that they might want to know about SJN’s need for regular meeting space.

Marcia and I met with Sharona Silverman, Director of the Deutsch Family Shalom Center at Temple Chai, on Dec. 26, 2006. We had a warm, friendly conversation, and Sharona was enthusiastic about welcoming SJN to Temple Chai. She viewed the connection as a way to continue the work the temple had offered through its earlier program, Job Transitions and Education for the Changing Workplace. I believed that SJN had found a sponsor who appreciated our mission and was eager to support it. I knew that the collaboration would provide SJN with a haven where our program could thrive.

A Valued Community Partnership

Since that day in December 2006, I have been overwhelmed and touched by how open and easy the Temple Chai community has made it to bring SJN to their campus. Their goodwill and empathy for our cause have enabled our program to prosper. SJN’s earliest meetings, held in the temple’s library, had an average attendance of 30. After two years, we have seen up to 200+ per event, and Temple Chai has adapted, making an adjoining room available.

In addition to SJN’s bi-monthly meetings, we have held workshops like an all-day “Exploring Your Passion and Putting it to Work” where SJN participants could be seen working in pairs in the courtyard. We’ve offered evening events and curriculum workshops, and even a photo shoot. When necessary, we have been able to linger after regular meetings, and the staff has helped with issues around the A/V equipment we own and use there. Other behind-the-scenes gatherings, like SJN planning sessions and volunteer group meetings, have been held at the temple as well.

We are fortunate to work with Temple Chai’s supportive staff including Sheana Abrams, facilities coordinator, who reserves space for our events; Jose Sanchez, maintenance worker, who sets up the double room to meet our requirements; and Marci Beliak, assistant to Sharona Silverman, a valuable resource and contact to others at the temple. Joe Miller joined the temple staff as Executive Director about a year ago and has been a pleasure to know. He has gone out of his way to ensure that SJN has access to double space to accommodate our growing numbers.

The Cost of Operating

The temple has donated meeting space to SJN for three years. In 2009, thanks to member and meeting sponsor donations, we were able to reimburse the temple for some operational expenses.

SJN is grateful to Temple Chai and our friends in the Jewish community for their passionate support of our members and neighbors in career transition. God bless your work as well!

(See the link to all SJN’s Community Partners on our website.)

Christine Vicari-SJN
Founder-Executive Director

Join SJN at last meetings of year!

Dear Friends and Supporters of SJN:

There are three SJN meetings left on the December calendar. Be sure to see our website for programs scheduled and register for:

Thursday evening, Dec 10 - Southeast (Mesa Community College)
Monday evening, Dec 14 - West (Glendale Community College)
Tuesday morning, Dec 15 - North (Temple Chai, Phoenix)

Members, guests, recruiters, employers and first timers are always welcome to attend meetings at any location.

At the Dec 15 meeting in the North, during the 8:30-9:30 AM open networking hour, we are having a light breakfast to celebrate the holidays. Consider wearing your holiday ties and gay apparel. Donations given in the past will cover the food expenses. Donations are always welcome.

If we don’t see you at one of the next three meetings, thank you for your participation this year.

Members can look forward to great offerings and support from SJN in the new year. Watch the website for January events scheduled.

Blessings to you and your families!

Chris


Christine Vicari
Founder-Executive Director
SOUTHWEST JOB NETWORK
P.O. Box 25674 ~ Scottsdale, AZ 85255
(v) 480 513-1491 - (e) info@southwestjobnet.com
(w) http://www.southwestjobnet.com/

SJN benefits when you order business cards and printing from VistaPrintonline at our website http://www.southwestjobnet.com/business-cards/

Important Notice to Recipients: The information contained in this email has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. The information transmitted by this e-mail is intended only for the addressee and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If you received this communication in error, please contact us immediately at (480) 513-1491, and delete the communication from any computer or network system. Southwest Job Network (SJN) is not a job placement forum. We do not match candidates to openings nor do we send resumes to employers or recruiters. There is no guarantee of employment either directly through this group or as a result of association with SJN. BE ADVISED: All incoming correspondence should be business related and respect our User Agreement. All e-mail sent to or from this address will be received or otherwise recorded by the corporate e-mail system and is subject to archival, monitoring or review by, and/or disclosure to any other party as required by law. Although this email and any attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defect that might negatively affect any computer system into which it is received and opened, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free and no responsibility is accepted by the sender for any loss or damage arising in any way in the event that such a virus or defect exist.

Volunteer of the Week: Aidan Foley

Submitted by Dawn Nowatzki – SJN Board Member, and SJN Southeast Program Director

Aidan Foley has been a key volunteer contributor to the post-launch and continued success of SJN Southeast.

Aidan originally joined SJN in November 2006, then landed at Orbital Sciences and moved to alumni status, and returned to SJN as an active job seeker in June 2009.

For those of you who attended an SJN Southeast event over the summer, when Eric Walton was our presenter, you know that Eric assigned “homework” to-dos for everyone to work on in preparation for the next meeting. The first to-do, from the “Emotions” session, was to journal where you were with each of the 10 emotions listed on the Emotional Roller Coaster.

In the earliest SJN Southeast meetings, we had quite a few new members joining us at each meeting, and I would remind everyone before the next session what the homework to-do was, so that first-timers would be prepared.

My introduction to Aidan was his email response to me, the day after receiving this reminder, as follows:

“Hi Dawn, concerning the action item, I did a self assessment (my wife helped too), and I've only seen Denial that my last employer could let me go with so much on my plate, Apprehension in that have I done everything possible to prep for my interview, Accepting that this 'stuff' happens, and Growth that I'm able to offer comfort and humor to others going thru this transition as well as me....”

Since our SJN Southeast group was still very new, and everyone was still getting to know each other, Eric and I asked Aidan at that second meeting if he would mind sharing his response with the group, and he immediately agreed. He was an icebreaker for the other SJN members, and encouraged them to also share their situations.

Before the next meeting, Aidan offered to be an SJN volunteer. When I asked him what he would like to do, he replied that he would do whatever we needed help with, that he typically never got to pick and choose his assignments, and that it seemed that he always got the ones that were in distress and needed a “smokejumper” mentality to solve.

Aidan offered to coordinate with Jerry Holtzclaw and Meridith Sullivan, and he led the creation and roll-out of the Specialty Support Groups (SSGs) in SJN Southeast in early August, and has been the SSG coordinator since then for SJN Southeast.

He also recognized the importance of re-offering the Get Wired to Get Hired workshop and LinkedIn demo at SJN Southeast, and since he was very familiar with LinkedIn, offered to be involved in the hands-on LinkedIn demo presentation that we provided in November.

Aidan was also a Wandering Greeter at all events, and made a point of making sure that no one was sitting alone at a table from the time that they arrived – including Laurie Katapski, the SJN North Site Event Coordinator, who I had invited to sit in and observe an SJN Southeast event!

Beyond that, I could tell that Aidan was always thinking about SJN and its needs as he was going through his daily and weekly job search and networking:

• He would advise as he identified several potential locations for SJN meetings and computer labs.
• At my request, Aidan sought out SJN members with examples of experiences with Maricopa and Phoenix Workforce Connection in advance of an SJN meeting with them to explore opportunities for SJN members.
• He made a valiant effort in trying to convince a retired Lt. Col from another Southeast Valley networking group to drive down to an SJN Southeast event to take digital photos of SJN members for their LinkedIn profiles.
• Aidan was an SJN ambassador as he attended other networking groups, and he referred many first-timers to SJN events both in the North and Southeast, and encouraged them to also volunteer.
• And he followed up with me multiple times after SJN Southeast meetings when he heard about potential opportunities that might be a fit for an SJN member that he had talked to at a previous meeting, but didn’t quite remember who they were.

On Monday, December 7th, Aidan will be transitioning back into SJN Alumni status as he starts at Honeywell Aerospace, through Manpower, as a Senior Advanced Engineer.

I am very grateful for the volunteer contributions and ongoing support that Aidan has provided to me and to SJN Southeast, we will miss him at our upcoming meetings, and we wish him the best in his new opportunity. afoley1@cox.net