Job program provides free workers in Monroe

The following article was on page 6A of the Jan. 6 edition of The Monroe Evening News and talks about a new program at the state employment agency office in Monroe, Mich.

By Charles Slat
ctslat@monroenews.com

Employers can get free labor through an unprecedented program being started by the Michigan Works! Monroe Service Center.

The effort is meant to employ people on welfare at for-profit businesses at no cost to the companies.

“We’ve not done this before,” said Barbara J. Verran, office director who’s been involved with the county employment and training program since the 1980s. “It’s really to get their foot in the door and get them work experience — something to put on their resume,” she said. “So many of them receiving assistance don’t have solid work experience or even a skill set.”

Those referred to the Michigan Works! Office from the Department of Human Services previously have been slotted in posts only at non-profit organizations. Broadening of the program now makes workers available to for-profit enterprises.

“We were only offering it to the non-profit sector but now we’ve really opened it up,” explained Carolee Goodnough, placement retention specialist with the Michigan Works! office. She said the program could help employers that already have suffered personnel cuts due to the economy. “Maybe when the economy turns around and people can afford to hire, they will give these people jobs,” she said. “If not, at least they get valuable work experience.”

She said there’s been a lot of employer interest in the program, which gets under way this month.

The unpaid workers can work at a business for up to a year and typically work an average of 13 to 16 hours a week. An effort is made to match the Michigan Works! clients with businesses based on the worker’s skills and interests and the employer’s needs.

The workers must meet the employment obligation or they could have their public assistance revoked, Ms. Goodnough noted. “They do face consequences,” she said, but the program isn’t meant to be any kind of punishment. The Michigan Works! office does site inspections and follow-up with the employer to ensure the arrangement is working out.

For the past year, non-profit employers have used a similar Michigan Works! Program. Ms. Goodnough said Mercy Memorial Hospital System has been one of the sites that has made use of it.

That relationship also produced one of the success stories when a client who had been on public assistance was slotted into a volunteer work experience post at the hospital. She was offered a job and subsequently returned to school for training as a Certified Nurse Assistant. “That’s how it’s supposed to work,” Ms. Goodnough said.

She said the program also provides another option for clients to remain productive. “You can only sit at a computer and do job searches so much with the economy the way it is,” she said.

Employers interested in the program may contact Ms. Goodnough at (734) 240-7957.

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From Monroe on a Budget.

Shop Goodwill On The Internet – Fuzzy Wuzzy Wednesday

Does it make you happy when you shop at thrift stores and find really great bargains?  Do you especially feel good when money spent on those bargains help provide services for people in need?

Charity and non-profit organizations like Goodwill Industries do just that.  When you shop at a Goodwill store, your money goes directly into programs like job training and job placement for folks who need help finding work due to disabilities or other barriers to employment.

I’m sure you’ll agree that this is a vital service, one which benefits everyone in a way.  Working folks are happier, healthier, and feel a sense of purpose and connection with their neighbors.  Our communities thrive when the population is productively employed.

This all sounds great, but what if you don’t have a Goodwill thrift store in your town?  How can you shop and contribute?

Here’s how… Goodwill Industries has their very own auction-type website.  It’s called ShopGoodwill.com and is operated by Goodwill of Orange County, California.  Participating Goodwill stores from all over offer a wide variety of items for auction; items from antiques to housewares to clothing.  New and nearly new items are pulled from their inventories of donated goods and placed on the auction site to sell.  Because Goodwill is so large, the resources for these items is enormous.

This is not a small charity or a small auction site.  Goodwill’s presence extends to five continents, and in 2005 alone, Goodwill Industries International and its affiliates served over 846,000 individuals.

Just like shopping at a Goodwill store, the money you spend at ShopGoodwill.com supports programs designed to help people with disabilities and other barriers to employment who are otherwise left out of society – programs like education, training and job placement.

How does the ShopGoodwill.com auction website work?  Similar to eBay, but your money is going to charity.

Start by scrolling around the items you are most interested in just to whet your appetite.  I guarantee you’ll see something that appeals to you.  For me, it was the wonderful cast iron Dutch ovens, griddles, and skillets.  There were even a few enameled cast iron casserole dishes.  Once I was sufficiently impressed, I just clicked on the “Sign-in” button, clicked on “I’m a New User”, and followed the simple instructions to register.

Of course, you’ll see some expensive antiques, art work, and jewelry, but you’ll also find things like a $10 Sunbeam Mixmaster, a $9 Pampered Chef baking dish, and even a vintage wedding gown for under $20!

The shipping should be factored in as you know, but seems to be what you would expect to pay.  But, it may be worth the cost to ship if you find something that you haven’t been able to find locally; maybe a missing piece from a set of dishes that you would like to complete.

Take a break from your busy day, click on ShopGoodwill.com, and start with a little window shopping.  When you see something that interests you, go ahead and register.  It will only take a minute or two and you’ll feel good the rest of the day, knowing the purchases you make are doing more than supporting a business… your purchases are supporting a community.

p.s. If you’ve gotten the urge to visit your local thrift shops now, before you start click here to read a few tips about when to shop and what to look for when you go.

Continue reading Shop Goodwill On The Internet – Fuzzy Wuzzy Wednesday …

From Hillbilly Housewife Blog.

Types of Federal Grants

Federal grants are financial aids given and authorized by the United States federal government to nongovernment and non-profit organizations to assist projects and programs for the benefit of the public and the community. There are about 1,000 programs which can be sponsored or subsidized by federal agencies.
Upon getting a federal grant, it [...]

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From Frugal Simplicity.

Nation’s poorest cities include Detroit, Toledo

If you are one of my national readers, let me give you a geography lesson.

Monroe, Mich., the city from where I am writing, and for whom my local content is aimed, is within commuting distance to both Toledo, Ohio, and Detroit, Mich.

We can get newspapers from both cities delivered in most of Monroe County’s neighborhoods; my cable service carries both Toledo and Detroit local stations; a lot of non-profit organizations that provide services in Monroe County have their district offices in Toledo or Detroit; local residents generally follow the Detroit professional sports teams along with Toledo’s minor league hockey and baseball; and, yes, we have workers and college students who commute from Monroe County to both Toledo and Detroit.

Monroe does have Ann Arbor connections too, but the economic and cultural impact in that direction just isn’t as pervasive as that of Detroit and Toledo.

This is the context in which to understand today’s report from the Toledo Blade: Census Bureau report lists Toledo in top 10 of downtrodden in 2008.

On that misery index of cities that have more than 250,000 residents, Toledo ranks no. 8 and Detroit ranks no. 1.

Continue reading Nation’s poorest cities include Detroit, Toledo …

From Monroe on a Budget.