Community Service Program
The Community Service Program is a SonomaWORKs program that benefits TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) recipients by matching them with training opportunities in the community to gain work experience while providing non-profit employers with needed assistance at no cost. Through Community Service individuals have the opportunity to develop community contacts for future networking, meet prospective employers, discover career mentors, and learn job skills while serving the community. The program fosters the growth and development of valuable life skills in preparation for future job success.
The projected number of Community Service participants for this fiscal year was 210, however, as of June 2005, we have served 344 individuals. Our active caseload averages 50 participants per month, 20 of which are currently working in the community at various non-profit sites. We have two distinct groups of people we serve through the Community Service program. The largest group is made up of individuals who have been unsuccessful at finding employment due to multiple barriers such as learning disabilities, prior substance abuse, mental health issues, lack of job skills, or a limited employment history. The second group is self initiated participants who are currently enrolled in school and whose internships/externships in teaching or nursing programs qualify them for the program. Community Service allows them to continue to receive aid while completing their education. In addition, we offer job search assistance with resume writing, interviewing techniques, and the career ladder approach to goal setting. A Clothes Closet is available to assist with interview appropriate clothing and we provide ongoing support with the development of a working wardrobe.
Community Service participants are referred by the County of Sonoma after being assessed and tested. Based on the individual's input, and the short and long term goals established with them by the County, we match them with a non-profit worksite that will provide the training and experience they need to secure unsubsidized employment in their chosen field. The worksites are as varied as the interests of the people we serve. We currently have individuals working in schools as Teacher's Assistants, students from the teaching and nursing programs of Sonoma State and Santa Rosa Junior College working as interns/externs in schools and hospitals throughout the county, Office Assistants in the legal profession, a Receptionist at the Cultural Arts Council, and Bird Care Providers working at the Bird Rescue Center . Two of our participants are doing an excellent job here at Goodwill, one as a Production Worker, and another as a Janitor's Assistant.
We are mindful that for every person we match to a community service site that leads to unsubsidized employment, we have had an impact on a family's future as well as changed attitudes about the benefits of giving back to the community. With that in mind, we have adapted Goodwill's slogan, “Believe in the Power of Work,” to “Believe in the Power of Community Service.”
