Naperville relief agencies announce alliance

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Updated: October 28, 2011 11:26AM

Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry has cast the net farther in its mission to end hunger in the community.

In a new piece of its Pathways to Empowerment initiative, the pantry is working with the Community Career Center to support people who are out of work or underemployed as they search for new ways to support themselves.

Participants in the career-empowering collaboration will learn skills and strategies to gain career knowledge and overcome job-related deficiencies. Program features include in-house consultation aimed at fostering job skills, instruction on internet usage and general computer access at the pantry headquarters on specific dates and times.

This new partnership signifies an important stepping stone for the Pathways to Empowerment initiatives, a new set of programs Loaves & Fishes has implemented to identify and alleviate the root causes of hunger, mitigate poverty-related issues, and, most significantly, present a path to self-sufficiency.

“When Loaves & Fishes looked at results from a recent client survey, we saw that a large number of people were unemployed, underemployed, or dissatisfied with their current job situation,” Charles McLimans, Loaves & Fishes’ executive director, said in a press release. “Job-related concerns continue to be one of the biggest obstacles for families working to maintain self-sufficiency.”

Community Career Center Director Kimberly White also is pleased with the alliance.

“It is the right time and place for this partnership. It just makes sense,” White said in the release. “With Loaves & Fishes’ new state-of-the-art computer lab and conference room, we will bring our job resources to them. Any time we can collaborate with other nonprofits is a win-win for the community we serve.”

The Community Career Center offers a supportive and professional setting where job seekers can conduct an effective and successful job search. Volunteers and staff provide a wide range of technical and practical job search assistance, as well as encouragement and support to anyone who is unemployed, underemployed or seeking a career change. Volunteers also provide one-on-one assistance with career counseling, interviewing, job search, LinkedIn and other professional networking, resume and basic computer skills. In addition, the center provides work stations with computers where job seekers can look for work. A job bank with job postings is also available on site. For more information, visit www.communitycareercenter.org.

Loaves & Fishes provides food and leadership in the community by uniting and mobilizing resources to empower people to be self sufficient. Alliances with other local organizations created Pathways to Empowerment programs to assist people in gaining literacy, job search, nutrition and basic financial knowledge. Each month the pantry serves more than 1,700 Naperville and DuPage County families, more than 7,000 people. Visit www.loaves-fishes.org to learn more.