There were 240 new, plus 28 carryover customers for a total of 268 clients who were served in Career Enhancement Center Services this program year. Of those 268 participants, 202 completed enough of the program to be counted as beneficiaries. Of the 202, 157 (78%) were linked to education and/or employment leading to career advancement. This percentage surpasses our goal of 70%

There were 119 students enrolled at four sites. Of these, 96 achieved the successful outcome of increasing their oral reading fluency at an average rate of 1 word per minute per week OR increasing their math fluency at an average rate of .5 digits per week on a timed test.

This is 81 percent of our students, exceeding our goal of 75 percent.

Our Material Assistance program strives to meet the basic needs of people in our community, so they can be empowered to move on to conquering other challenges.

Material Assistance served a total of 11,733 households this year, up 4,300 from last year. This speaks to the increasing demand, particularly for food pantry, and also reflects VERY hard work on the part of the MAS team.

Success Story:

Wendy* is a 42 year old African American mother of two children. Prior to coming in for services, Wendy’s employment history consisted of jobs that required manual labor. She came into The Salvation Army’s Career Enhancement Program because she was tired of working manual labor jobs and wanted to secure a job in an office environment. Although Wendy had typing skills and some basic knowledge of the computer, she wanted to enhance her computer skills, as well and increase her knowledge of general office duties. Wendy also wanted to increase her communication skills so that she would feel more confident when working with the public.

In addition to helping her build job application, interviewing, and job retention skills, the CareerEnhancementCenter also helped Wendy enhance her verbal communication skills, build her problem solving and conflict resolution skills and develop written communication skills such as writing business letters and resumes.

As a result, Wendy feels that her self confidence was boosted and she is more prepared to work with the general public. Wendy feels that she learned new avenues for finding employment opportunities, how to develop a strong resume and how to communicate and problem-solve in the workplace.

After Wendy completed training, she secured a job as a Customer Service Representative at Sam’s Club. When a Receptionist position at The Salvation Army became available, Wendy applied for the position and was ultimately hired. Wendy is currently the Receptionist for our EastMainWorship & ServiceCenter. She also volunteers her services to the CareerEnhancementCenter by assisting in a clerical capacity.

“Every skill that I learned at The Salvation Army Career Enhancement Center has helped me with every position that I have held after passing the course.”

“Having the certificate helped me to clinch the position at Sam’s Club, because it showed them exactly what I learned in the class.”

Success Story:

Jiqkel, a first grade student, came to the East Main Learning Center in September 2007. When staff first tested Jiqkel using the CBM assessment tool, he was unable to read any words. In partnership with his teacher, the Program Manager created an education plan for Jiqkel that focused on letter recognition, phonics, and sight word recognition. Each afternoon, Jiqkel worked with the staff and volunteers at the Learning Center to help him build fundamental reading skills. Within a few weeks, Jiqkel improved dramatically. By November 2007, he was reading up to 25 words per minute and by April was reading 43 words per minute. Jiqkel moved from below average at the beginning of the school year to the seventieth percentile by mid April 2008. He is well on his way to becoming an excellent student.

Throughout the year, Jiqkel experienced a total transformation of how he felt about school. In the fall, he talked about hating school and would cry when it was time to go to school. But with the help of The Salvation Army and his school, Jiqkel has overcome the obstacle of not being able to read. Now, he cannot wait to start the second grade in the fall. He is so proud and full of excitement when he tells everyone “I can read now!”

Success Story:

Karen came to The Salvation Army in 2005 soon after losing custody of her children due to a domestic violence situation at home. During her visit, Karen shared her story with the case worker. She talked about the many obstacles in her life that were preventing her from caring for her children. As a result of these challenges, Children’s Services had placed her in foster care. The case worker was able to help Karen with her immediate basic needs and link her with the services she needed to stabilize her home.

Over the next couple of years, Karen continued to work hard to get her children back. In the process, The Salvation Army provided Karen with clothing, furniture, food and support, the basic building blocks of a stable home. Recently, Karen and her three children returned to our South Side office. Karen told her children that The Salvation Army is the reason she got them back. She told the case worker “had it not been for you and The Salvation Army I could have never made it.” She told the case worker that she is working, has her own place and is very happy.

The case worker told the children that it was her mother’s hard work that brought the family back together and encouraged the family to stay in touch in the future.