Revised Forms for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Program for Implementation of the Veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (VOW Act) Provisions and Other Program Changes

Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) for United States Department of Labor.  This information has recently been updated. TEGL 4-12: Revised Forms for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Program for Implementation of the Veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (VOW Act) Provisions and Other Program Changes has been added to the ETA Advisory database and is now available at http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=9039.

FREE GED Classes

GED classes will be offered free of charge starting September 4, 2012 at Holy Family school (west campus).

 

Classes will be held from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

 

Instruction will be provided in both English & Spanish.

 

Classes are not limited to GED candidates, but for any adult who wish to further their math and writing skills.

 

For more information contact Richard Vasquez at 234-5005.

Free Fans - Topeka

The Red Cross has received more fans for distribution.

 

The fans are free while supplies last.

 

To receive a free fan, one must fill out a short form at the Red Cross, 1221 SW 17^th St., weekdays between 8 a.m. & 4:30 p.m. 

 

In addition, applicants will need a photo identification card to verify their address.

 

Due to high demand and limited quantities, the Red Cross allows one fan per address, per person every two years.

 

   

American Red Cross

Kansas Capital Area Regional Chapter

1221 SW 17th St.

Topeka, KS 66604

(785) 234-0568

 

 

KDADS announces a Special Project Grant Opportunity - PEANE Grants

The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services is announcing a Special Project Grant opportunity for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation (PEANE).  The application and instructions are available at http://www.kdads.ks.gov/SeniorServices/PEANE.html  Completed applications must be returned by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 17, 2012.

 

Please share this announcement as appropriate.

 

Highest Regards,

 

The team at Strategic Development, Faith-Based and Community Initiatives

 

 

 

Local Topeka Suit Drive: Halfway but Still Need Your Help!

We're halfway through our fifth annual National Suit Drive. We still need your help!

We are calling on all of our friends to reach out to their contacts, utilize their connections and continue to spread the word. The more items we collect for this years local suit drive, the more people we help.  

It is going to take the extra effort from all parties involved to achieve this goal!

 

 

"Let's Make it Happen!"

 

Trouble seeing this email?   VIEW ON MOBILE   |   VIEW ON WEB BROWSER

Thank You in Advance !!!          *Discount is off the regular price and excludes shoes. Other restrictions apply. See store coupon for details. © Men's Wearhouse 2012 all rights reserved 6380 Rogerdale Road  |  Houston, Texas 77072

 

--

IBSA, Inc.

629 SE Quincy, Suite 102, 

Topeka, KS 66603-3921

785.422.0761 (office) 

lazoneg@ibsa-inc.org

 

Internet

http://www.ibsa-inc.org

Van Ru Credit Corp - Job details

Van Ru Credit Corporation is looking to hire several Collectors to start ASAP.  This opportunity pays $11-15 per hour and has excellent benefits, including Bonus and Incentive Programs!   Although collections experience is preferred, this employer is Willing to Train.   If you are working with a job seeker with collections experience or not, this may be a GREAT opportunity! 

 

This is a great way for job seekers to get that one on one experience with the employer and will be able to apply online, on completion of the information session on site.

 

Call for more information: (913) 345-9729

Community Solutions Toolkit, Research and Reports

The White House Council for Community Solutions conducted extensive research and outreach to learn about community collaboration and pathways to employment for youth. In collaboration with our partners, the Council also created a series of tools and resources for community leaders and employers to support opportunity youth.

Resources for Communities
Community Collaboratives Toolbox (PDF) 
Community Collaboratives White Paper (PDF) 
Case Studies of Effective Collaboratives (PDF)

Resources for Employers
A Toolkit for Employers: Connecting Youth and Business (PDF)

Research Reports
Economic Value of Opportunity Youth (PDF)

Council Meeting Materials

Final Report

Community Solutions for Opportunity Youth (PDF) 
Recommendations Summary (PDF)

Resources for Communities

To better understand what makes significant community-wide change happen, the Council conducted significant research, including conversations with more than 50 experts and cross-sector leaders and an extensive review of approximately 100 collaborations. The Council's work also was informed by the seminal article written by Foundation Strategy Group (FSG) and published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review in Winter 2011. The Council was seeking to identify communities that demonstrated needle-moving (+10%) change on a community-wide metric. Based on this research, the Council believes that long-term, cross-sector collaboratives that use data-driven decision making in aspiring to significant change on a community wide metric holds real promise in solving complex community challenges.

The Council has developed this Community Collaboratives Toolbox to guide communities in creating or improving their own needle-moving collaboratives. This Toolbox is geared toward:

• Local officials (such as mayors, school superintendents and police chiefs) exploring collaboratives as a means to create broad-based change in their community
• Leaders and staff of community organizations seeking to make significant progress in their community
• Intermediaries shaping and supporting collaboratives
• Partner organizations participating in collaboratives

The Community Collaboratives Toolbox includes a detailed guide of key activities and resources for each stage of a collaborative's "life cycle", as well as an assessment module to better understand whether a collaborative is prepared to move to the next stage. There are also tools on how to structure collaboratives most effectively and how to best generate meaningful community participation.

The Community Collaboratives Toolbox consists of four primarily tools, each of which is filled with additional resources to move collaboratives toward success:

"Building or Improving a Community Collaborative – Guidance by Life Cycle Stage": Describes the five stages of a collaborative's life, including case studies, a checklist of key activities, and common roadblocks for each stage

"Community Collaborative Assessment – A Diagnostic of Success Readiness": Helps communities evaluate a collaborative's readiness to implement its action plan in the community

"Community Collaboratives Learning Examples: Capacity, Structure, Data and Funding": Provides examples from successful collaborative's on these four critical success factors.

"Community Collaboratives: The Next Generation of Community Participation": Describes how to generate meaningful community participation, a critical element to community collaborative success.

In addition to the Toolbox, the Council developed case studies of effective collaboratives and the impact achieved in their respective communities.

Resources for Employers

Youth employment is a critical element of success for young people. Unfortunately, the recession has had a particularly hard impact on youth employment. Only 45 percent of youth between the ages of 16-24 were employed the end of August, including only 33.8 percent of African American youth. This is significantly lower than the 54.5 percent of youth who were employed five years ago and 56.1 percent of youth who were employed 10 years ago. Only 21 out of every 100 teens in low-income families had a job this past summer.

We believe every US company can play a part in creating pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth. The Council has identified three key ways for companies to help connect youth to a better future while simultaneously deriving benefits for their businesses, such as increased employee engagement, customer loyalty and employee retention.

• Life Skills Development: Provide youth work-related soft skills, such as communication, time management and teamwork, through coursework and/or experience. For example, your company could offer resume writing or interview workshops or provide employee mentors.
  • Example of Employer Program: AT&T, Bank of America, Bloomingdale's, Comcast, Deloitte have all accepted the Corporate Mentoring Challenge to either start or expand an existing mentoring program within their organization, or help a local mentoring organization expand their capacity and efficiency.
• Work Skills Development: Provide youth insight into the world of work to prepare for employment. For example, businesses can host job shadow days.
  • Example of Employer Program: Southwire (manufacturer of cables and wires) has employees work with the Carroll County Schools as mentors for young students and allows students to combine their studies with on-the-job training in its wire manufacturing plant.
• Learn and Earn Opportunities: Provide youth on-the-job skills in a learning environment while earning wages for their work. For example, businesses can offer paid internships, and/or offer permanent positions that provide on-the-job training. Business can also partner with schools and higher education institutions to give youth the opportunity both to strengthen their academic skills while working as well as to connect learning to the context of work.
  • Example of Employer Program: CVS Caremark partners with WorkSource Partners to source, train, and hire entry-level workers. The program helps untapped talent enter the industry and progress along the career path by offering innovative training, career mentoring and education support. Since program inception, the company has doubled its retention rate and has generated a 179 percent return on investment (return relative to costs on Work Opportunity Tax Credit). Additional benefits of lower turnover and higher consumer satisfaction generated by the training were also noted.

Tools for Employer Success

To support companies in developing youth engagement programs, the Council developed a Youth Employment Toolkit. The toolkit provides information on how businesses can create clear, community-supported, mutually beneficial pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth. Complete with case studies of best practices, the toolkit guides businesses down one of the three pathways that best matches the company's assets and readiness to provide youth the skills they need for employment and adulthood. Conveniently available in print and online, the toolkit will walk businesses through four key stages to identify and define a successful program.

1. Assess and Select: Employers take an assessment survey which guides them to select one of three engagement models (Life Skills, Work Skills or Learn & Earn).
2. Define Scope: Employers walk through an exercise to define the scope of their company's model.
3. Plan and Pilot: Users are guided through a plan to build their company's pilot program.
4. Refine and Grow: Employers set up for ongoing program development and refinement.

Research Reports

Authored by researchers at the City University of New York and Columbia University on behalf of the Council and funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Economic Value of Opportunity Youth describes the number of youth ages 16-24 who are out of school and work, highlights interesting disaggregated data about them, calculates the immediate and lifetime economic cost to the taxpayer and society of failing to reconnect them (and what could be gained by doing so), and provides some ideas for paths to re-engage them.

Hart research conducted a nationwide survey of disconnected youth for Civic Enterprises and America's Promise. The survey was fielded collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, James Irvine Foundation & Annie E. Casey Foundation and in partnership with Forum for Youth Investment, Jobs for the Future, and YouthBuild USA. The following report, Opportunity Road: The Promise and Challenge of America's Forgotten Youth, combines the findings of this national survey of disconnected youth (building on the Council's youth listening sessions), existing research on this population, uplifting case studies of individuals who were disconnected and institutions that have had success in reconnecting them to school and work, and a comprehensive policy and practice agenda that can further our conversation about what all sectors can do to help re-engage these youth. The report begins with an Open Letter to the American People from Colin and Alma Powell.

Council Meeting Materials

June 2011 Council Meeting PowerPoint Presentations:

• From the Chair (PDF)
• Effectiveness Working Group (PDF)
• Capacity Working Group (PDF)
• Communications Working Group (PDF)
• Stakeholder Outreach Synthesis (PDF)

Council Final Report and Recommendations

On June 4, 2012 the Council presented its Final Report and Recommendations to the President.

• Final Report: Community Solutions for Opportunity Youth
• Recommendations Summary

During the White House Summit on Community Solutions for Disconnected Youth on June 4, 2012, Council members and leaders from a range of local and national non-profit, philanthropic, business, government, and national service organizations gathered to discuss the recommendations and learn about innovative community-wide initiatives connecting young people with critical education and employment opportunities.

Materials from the February 4, 2011 Council Meeting

• February 2011 Council Meeting PowerPoint Presentation (PDF)
• Community Solutions: Connecting Youth with Community and Careers, Goodwill Industries (PDF)
• Promoting Community Solutions and Civic Participation to Solve Pressing Social Needs, CNCS (PDF)
• Civic Engagement and Community Solutions: Facts and Figures Across the Sector, CNCS (PDF)
• Collective Impact, Stanford Social Innovation Review
• Pathways out of Poverty and into Opportunity, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PDF)
• Children Of the Great Recession, National Journal

http://www.serve.gov/council_resources.asp#maincontent

12 World-Class Universities Join Coursera!

We are THRILLED to announce that 12 universities -- including three international institutions -- will be joining Princeton University, Stanford University, University of Michigan, and University of Pennsylvania in offering classes on Coursera.

On Coursera, you will now be able to access world-class courses from:

• California Institute of Technology
• Duke University
• Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• Johns Hopkins University
• Princeton University
• Rice University
• Stanford University
• University of California, San Francisco
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• University of Michigan
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Toronto
• University of Virginia
• University of Washington

You'll be able to choose from more than 100 new courses, from learning how to program in Scala (taught from the creator of Scala, Professor Martin Odersky from EPFL), to Professor Dan Ariely's course on irrational behavior, to the legendary UVA course "How Things Work" with Professor Louis Bloomfield. You can check out the most current course list here -- keep in mind you can enroll in a class even if the start date is to be announced.

To date, 700,000 students from 190 countries have participated in classes on Coursera, with more than 1.6 million course enrollments total!

To everyone who has taken a class on Coursera, or who has recommended us to your friends and family -- thank you! Education is starting to look very different, and we're excited and humbled to be part of it.

Very best,

Your Coursera Team | www.coursera.org

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and visit our blog.

Warehouse opportunity in Olathe KS, Please share,, This is HUGE

Essentially, we are gearing up for our busy season. What this means is that we are going to start interviewing anywhere between 60 and 100 people a week to fill up to 200 spots a month. It is a great time for people who are looking for more hours, especially those people who live a little further away and 4 hours a day may not be cutting it.

 

Come October we will be starting to flex people to full-time hours, so we want to start interviewing people for these spots very soon. I will continue to hold open interviews for people on Thursdays at 4:00pm, however in the busy season our preference is people at least apply online before they come in. As of now I do the applications on the back end of things myself, but I can't do that for 100 people! J

 

If you know of any other organizations that help the unemployed find work, please feel free to forward my information! We appreciate all the communication you and your group has had with us and we hope to continue that as we move into the wonderful, busy times of logistics.

 

167^th and Lone Elm

 

Hatch Staffing Services

Olathe, KS 66062

www.hatch.com- APPLY ONLINE FIRST

 

 

Employment Opportunity - Office Manager, part-time

East Topeka Senior Center is seeking an organized, personable and cheerful individual to join our team.

Office Manager, part-time. 

Responsibilities include:

Answer telephone, schedule transportation for seniors, manage commodities distribution and reporting, general administrative duties and clerical support, coordinate center activities, accounting and payroll processes.

Pay - $7.50 – 8.00 per hour

Must have HS diploma/GED, ability to use computer with knowledge in MS Word & Excel. Good communications skills. 

EOE.

Send cover letter and resume to East Topeka Senior Center, Executive Director, 432 SE Norwood, Topeka KS  66607

Janelle Hood

ETSC

Executive Director

785-232-7765

Digital Inclusion - View The State of Internet Connectivity in KC Report Online

Neighborhood-based research findings:

Presented by Google Kevin Lo, June 22, 2012

Mayor's Bi-State Innovation Team (MBIT)

The Innovations Team was charged with creating a playbook that identifies creative uses of the Google infrastructure and how best to market the KC metro's high-speed fiber connectivity in recruiting business, industry and institutional interests to the area. 

Digital inclusion is a key aspect of many of the issues outlined in the playbook. Download and review the report Google released in late June on Kansas City's digital divide here. 

This study will inform future planning as a Digital Leadership Network is formed to implement the playbook. 

Audio of Kevin Lo, General Manager/Google Access explaining report findings

 [ 1 ]    [ 2 ]

Audio recorded by IBSA, Inc.

Please share with other interested parties...

Youth City Network KCK: We are looking for volunteers!

Youth City Network is now recruiting volunteers for our after school program in the fall. The after school program will be held on Fridays from 3pm -5pm at Northwest Middle School. We are looking for adult and high school volunteers. Youth City Network's after school program focuses on allowing students to creatively express themselves through talents such as poetry, art, and acting. In addition we will prepare students for high school and college. Volunteers must also be available for some Saturdays for field trips and community service outings. 

Volunteer duties consist of organizing and compiling student information, building a strong communication with parents, faculty and staff. Duties also include creating lessons plans and providing activities for students to engage in during their time at school. Theater, Social Work, and Education majors are encouraged to apply.

Check out the website for more information about what we do! Email empower@ycitynet.org if interested or call 913 991 7606. Thank you! 

 

Lucretia Sutherlin

Co-Founder/Executive Director 

Youth City Network  

(913) 991 7606

"Self Respect, The Starting Point" 

www.youthcitynetwork.org

http://www.facebook.com/youthcitynetwork 

"Our plan is to cultivate an optimistic lifestyle for teenagers by promoting health awareness, self-empowerment, community service, higher education and self-expression to move forward with a better perspective on life.

Open Positions at Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway

 

Below is a list of open positions at Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway. Please feel free to share with anyone interested.  All candidates should be directed to our website at www.hollywoodcasinokansas.com to submit an application/resume.

 

 

Beverage Server- Full-Time

Coffee Bar Attendant- Part-Time

Count Room Cashier- Part- Time

Facilities General Repair- Full-Time

Surveillance Agent- Full-Time

 

Please Let me know if you have any questions!

 

 

Victoria Hewitt-Burns

Human Resources Coordinator

Hollywood Casino Kansas Speedway

Office: 913.288.9407

victoria.burns@pngaming.com

website: www.hollywoodcasinokansas.com

 

 

KCK Community College: Major Appliance Technology

Below is contact information for James Carmack, KCKCC Tec instructor and insightful information about the Major Appliance Technology Program offered at KCKCC.

 

This new program prepares for entry level positions working on major in-home appliances and commercial restaurant equipment repair. Enrollees get detailed instruction on refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, wall ovens, microwaves and kitchen ventilation. 

http://www.kckcc.edu/academics/catalog/programsDegrees/majorApplianceTechnologyTecCert.aspx

If you would like James to speak before your group or have questions, please give James a call.

 

James J. Carmack

KCKCC-TEC Instructor

Major Appliance Technology

913 627-4154

jcarmack@kckcc.edu

 

Grant Opportunities

National Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration Projects (HHS-2012-ACF-OCSE-FD-0297)
Funder: Office of Child Support Enforcement: Administration for Children and Families: US Department of Health & Human Services
Funding Amount: $195,000 to $200,000 per Budget Period (8 awards will be approved)
Application Due Date: 7/27/2012
Funding Time Line: 5-year demonstration project
Eligibility: State Title IV-D agencies or the umbrella agency of the IV-D program. 

Program Summary: Applications should be to develop and implement programs that provide employment services to noncustodial parents in the child support system as part of a national demonstration framework. Programs will be examined on case management, employment-oriented services, peer support of fatherhood/parenting activities, and child support procedures. Target populations include noncustodial parents who are not regularly or are expected to have trouble paying child support. Grantees must have the capacity to enroll a total of 1,000 to 1,500 noncustodial parents, with the strongest applications being those expecting to reach the 1,500 recruitment number and include descriptions of recruitment procedures. 

Transitional Jobs programs are encouraged to reach out to their state IV-D agencies for a possible partnership opportunity.

To apply, visit www.Grants.gov.

 

Bank of America

Application Due Date: July 2nd, 2012
Funding Amount: Up to $50,000+  Average grant amount is roughly $25,000. Larger size grants in excess of $50,000. Grant size dependent on local markets

Program Eligibility: 501 C3 Non-Profits (Churches and religious schools are not applicable). Organizations focusing on Post-Secondary transitional work, and transitional employment of the unemployed and underemployed are encouraged to apply.

To learn more, please go to www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.