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The Charlotte Jewish News - June-July 2010 - Page 18 Community Mews Finding Employment for Refugees Completes the American Dream By Karen Brodsky One of the most difficult tasks for HIAS NC is finding employ ment for its refugee clients. It is also one of the most crucial servic es HIAS NC provides. HIAS NC’s primary mission is to assist employable refugees to obtain a first job as early as possi ble after arrival in the U.S. The goal is to bring the refugee family closer to economic self-sufficien cy Through HIAS NC, refugees are eligible to receive employment services for up to five years after arrival in the U.S. Even during these unstable eco nomic times with high unemploy ment, HIAS NC has been success ful in placing many of the refugees who can and want to work. HIAS NC’s employment staff, Paul Porcelli and Weh Ksor, have nur tured relationships with local employers, who find their refugee employees to be hard-working, reliable, and eager to leam. Charles Boorman, staffing manager for DMSI Staffing, Charlotte, has worked with many of HIAS NC’s refugee clients to place them at a packing and distri bution center. “In my experience,” he said, “they are very willing and very able to work. They have a strong work ethic. They’ve been through a lot and are perseverant. We’re happy to provide the oppor tunity for them to better them selves.” Boorman also said they tend to better workers than many other employees, even in these tough economic times, “if you can believe it.” Some Charlotteans think that these refugees are taking jobs from others who need them. However, often they are the only population who agrees to take these types of positions. Employers need to fill these jobs, and they need a reliable work force. “From the moment they set foot in the U.S., they have guaranteed that their lives will have meaning. Business Card Directory To advertise in the Business Card Directory, contact one of our sales representatives: Rita Mond, 704-366-6632 Jodi Valenstein, 704-841-4040 COSTA RICA TOURS, LTD Costa Rica & Panama Specialists 704-541-8680 www.costaricatoursltd.com PRIVATE & 2011 GROUP TOURS Panama with Canal Transit: January 12-17 Costa Rica Variety: January 17-23 Costa Rica Nature: February 19-25 Costa Rica Gardens: March 10-17 Sandra Feldman, owner “Chapel in The Oaks’ JhA/M m. ij SINCE 1883 { 1 500 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28207 704-332-7133 www.harryandbryant.com 25 Years of Serving the Carolinas with High Quality Storage and Marino Properties ujujuj.mstarprope rties.com a focus and a future plan, rather than merely subsisting and surviv ing day to day,” said Paul Porcelli, employment manager for HIAS NC. “Their version of the American dream is not so different from ours — to have a good job, good and safe housing, and food for their families. They push their children to succeed in school and stay in school so they are prepared to be the heirs of their hard work. They have this immigrant mentality to succeed, which is not so different from our grandparents.” After an employment intake to determine what skills these refugees possess and how they can translate to employment in Charlotte, the employment staff coaches them, helps them com plete applications, and takes them to interviews. Porcelli is vigilant about making sure they have the proper shoes, clothing, and papers in order to go to the interview. The refugees are also required to attend English as a Second Language classes throughout the process. HIAS NC provides class es convenient to each work shift and supplements the English they leam on the job. ESL teaches the language surrounding work safety. Many refiigees are employed in factories, packing and distribution centers, and manufacturing plants. A large number currently work in a poultry processing and packing plant south of Charlotte, which operates with high safety stan dards and provides good benefits for workers. Porcelli and Ksor spend many hours seeking out employers, gaining their trust, and following up on refugee hires, so “HIAS stays in the loop,” said Porcelli. “We also try to upgrade them once they are employed and their English language skills have improved. We encourage their par ticipation in HIAS NC’s ESL and English language programs CPCC offers.” Phil Heileman, human resources manager for Metrolina Greenhouses in Huntersville, said, “Paul has delivered really nice people, many good people, and they are all considered in the mix of who we interview. They have a really good work ethic. We’re very comfortable with the association we have with HIAS NC.” One of the biggest obstacles faced by refugees is the lack of good, consistent public transporta tion. First shift employees cannot get to work via bus because CATS busses do not run early enough. Porcelli said, “Not only is this a problem for refugees, it is a prob lem for the poor in general. Our people have [among] the lowest incomes in Charlotte but many manage to buy a car, and they net work among each other to form carpools.” HIAS NC clients are dedicated and reliable workers, and we look to the community to provide us with other employment opportuni ties. The agency provides refugees with furnished apartments, food, access to services from agencies throughout Charlotte, ESL, in addition to employment services. HIAS NC accepts cash donations to provide more and better servic es. Furniture and house wares donations are always welcomed. Please call Ellen Dubin or Paul Porcelli if you have jobs available for refugees at 704-535-8803 or e- mail Ellen.dubin@hias.org. ^ Happy Tenth Birthday, Camp Mindy Camp Mindy, the traditional day camp of the Levine JCC, cele brated ten years of fun, friendship and memories on Sunday, April 25. In a brief ceremony, Levine JCC staff thanked founding donors Lori and Eric Sklut for all that they have done for Camp Mindy over the years. Philip Berman, Levine JCC CEO, cited Lori and Eric’s commitment to ensure that facilities, staff and resources are available and remain focused on Camp Mindy’s mis sion: to provide all campers with a terrific Jewish camp experience. Dana Kapustin and her daugh ter, Danielle, represented the many loyal volunteers who sup port Camp Mindy as they present ed the Sklut and Levine families with beautiful memory books. The CAMP MINDY Mindy Ellen Levine Day Camp books commemorate ten years of wonderful camp memories in pic tures. The crowd was treated to a slide show, a magic show, lunch, cake and children’s activities. With some help from Eric, camp staff managed to surprise Lori with the naming of the Recreation Hall in her honor. Camp Mindy was founded by the Skluts in memory of Lori’s sister, Mindy Ellen Levine, and its suc cess is due largely to Lori’s tire less energy and dedication. Each year more than 600 campers, ages preschool to teen, enjoy all that Camp Mindy has to offer. For further information, please call 704-944-6728.^ Lori and Eric Sklut Sandra and Leon Levine Jewish Community Center Here the Levine family takes part in the celebration. “FRIENDS” Are Available to Support Victims of Domestic Violence Does your partner: belittle, humiliate, bully you? Does s/he control the finances, demand unwanted sex, isolate you from family and friends, destroy your belongings, hurt your pets, threat en or injure you? It may be abuse. Come to us for help. Most people don’t know they are in abusive relationships, espe cially if they are Jewish. But it is happening - today - in about one in five of our Jewish homes here in Greater Charlotte. “FRIENDS” are volunteers who have been trained to help people recognize if what they are experiencing is abuse. For those who are victims or survivors, they are here to support, to help, to lis ten, to answer questions and to provide resource information. If you are in a volatile domestic situation, your one-on-one FRIEND is here to help while respecting your privacy and the right to make your own decisions. All contacts are held in the strictest confidence. If you or someone you know needs our kind of “FRIEND,” call Carol at 704- 609-3120 or Marsha at 704-756- 9209 or email info@shalombayit- nc.org. Carol is also the contact person for the Shalom Bayit sup port group for women who are currently in or have survived a domestic abuse situation. Both FRIENDS and the support group are free services of Shalom Bayit-NC and are supported by the agencies of the Greater Charlotte Jewish community. ^
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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June 1, 2010, edition 1
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