May 2009
| Opportunity Junction® fights poverty by helping low-income adults gain the skills and confidence to support themselves and their families. |
In this issue...
Frustrated and unable to find employment, Rachelle Norton used a variety of community resources to build her confidence and skills to find her dream position. |
 In the Stretch: With pro bono assistance from DCI and Belden Engineering, and CDBG program funding from Contra Costa, Pittsburg, and Antioch, we will double our capacity this summer. You can help! More... Gala Success: Imagine (and see some pictures) of the fun had by all at our Beatle's inspired April 4 gala at the Shadelands Arts Center, presented by Chevron. More... Ready to Work!: Class 28 graduates have finished 12 weeks of intense training and are ready for temporary placements or temp to hire opportunities. More... New Faces at the Junction: We are pleased to welcome new staff members Danae Lui, a long-time volunteer, and Michael Tress on board. More... Funding Cuts to ESL Program: Adult Education funding cuts hit our Evening Technology Center, but we will continue to provide programming. More... Up to the Challenge: We are grateful to the donors who stretched so that we could draw down our entire $25,000 matching grant from the Anonymous Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation. More... Ask the Tech: Are online games messing with your PC? Opportunity Junction volunteer Ryan Fernandes, Chief Technology Consultant for East County Tech, answers your question. More... |
Regular Features |
Featured Alumna Rachelle Norton: "Opportunity Junction helped me find a position to show my real potential."
Rene Tucker, an East Bay Works Employer Liason and a former staff member of Opportunity Junction, recommended she apply for our Job Training and Placement Program. "Rene encouraged me to apply because I really needed the computer skills and the life skills. I wanted to pass the computer assessments, but I also needed help with my professionalism and communicating effectively with people. Opportunity Junction provided everything I needed." The training proved to be challenging, however. With no previous computer skills and addressing difficult personal issues, Rachelle struggled to retain the information and often felt like quitting. "My daughter and classmates helped me study and know I could learn the material. But Natalie [Georgia, Manager of Personal Development] helped me accept my issues and process the pain of feeling like a failure and wanting to give up," Rachelle says.
With a proven record of taking advantage of opportunities, Rachelle accepted a temporary assignment with Central Contra Costa Sanitary District through Opportunity Junction's DataWorks social enterprise. Although the commute was long, the pay was lower than desired, and the duration was only three months, Rachelle grabbed this opportunity as a learning experience and a way to hone her skills. She immediately made herself indispensible. Two months into the temporary assignment, a confident Rachelle asked human resources if she could be hired directly. Her moxie paid off; the company agreed to hire her on, extended the length of the position for a year, and offered her a significant pay increase. "I am proud of myself for taking a chance and seizing the opportunities afforded to me. I am now volunteering with the organizations that helped me along the way." Although her internship ended only a few months ago, Rachelle has already volunteered at Opportunity Junction's Holiday Party, Gala, and graduations. "Opportunity Junction will be seeing a lot of me. I couldn't have done all of this without them." Pro Bono Professionals and CDBG Recovery Act Funding Make Expansion Possible
"We're going to get it done," whispers Alissa Friedman, Executive Director, as though she doesn't want to jinx anything. "With the County, Pittsburg, and Antioch on board, we can do this." "This" is the long-awaited renovation of Opportunity Junction's offices at 3102 Delta Fair Boulevard. In late 2008, Friedman signed a 10-year lease extension that included $60,000 in landlord funding for improvements to the office, with the goal of creating a physical infrastructure that would support expansion to meet the growing need for services. Concord architecture firm DCI, recruited by one of our Job Training and Placement Program interns, has been providing pro bono services and even enlisted Belden Engineering to prepare the mechanical, electrical and plumbing drawings. With the landlord's contribution far short of the budget needed to make the plans real, Recovery Act CDBG funds from Contra Costa County and the cities of Pittsburg and Antioch are absolutely essential. "We are grateful both to the elected officials and to the program officers who are supporting the project and making it real," says Friedman. Opportunity Junction will still need help to get these renovations done within budget, she warns. "We're recruiting volunteers to help us with packing and painting and building furniture," Friedman explains. "And our wish list is getting longer." Some of the current furniture will not fit into the new space, she explains, so Opportunity Junction will also be looking to donate a certain number of desks and monitors and other office furnishings to other nonprofits. Please contact Jesse Golden if your organization might be interested in receiving a donation along these lines. Click here to view our plans. A Splendid Time was Guaranteed for All at the 2009 Gala
Ready to work! Our New Grads are Trained and at Your Service
Our April 23 graduation celebrated the successful completion of twelve weeks of computer training in Microsoft Office software, business and life skills, and other computer applications for nine graduates. Guest speaker San Ramon mayor H. Abram Wilson joined family, friends and community members to mark the occasion. But the program graduation is more of a milestone marker than a farewell, since Job Training and Placement Program graduates move on to a paid internship with Opportunity Junction. During the internship, they prepare for and begin their job search, and also participate in work experience projects – and that’s where you might come in!
Opportunity Junction Welcomes Danae Lui and Michael Tress
In addition to volunteering with the evening program, Danae is also a volunteer with Contra Costa County HICAP (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program) and is licensed by the State of California to provide counseling on Medicare issues. Outside of work and volunteering, Danae enjoys gardening, fishing with her husband Leroy, and taking care of her menagerie (dog, cat, and tortoise).
Prior to his business life, Michael was enlisted in the Army and he served honorably overseas and stateside. Michael is married and has two young boys at home. In his spare time, he teaches yoga, Pilates and water aerobics. Adult Education Funding Cuts
We've appreciated the support of PAEC, its Principal, Bob Beck, and Vice-Principal, Jack Kane, who have both also served as members of the Opportunity Junction Board of Directors, as well as Vice-Principal Lynne Nicodemus, who oversees the PAEC ESL program. For now, Opportunity Junction will support the ESL program from unrestricted funds, while seeking new funding sources for long-term support. The ESL program will be cut from twelve hours per week to six hours per week, with teacher Fran Tornabene de Sousa continuing to teach a beginning class. Donors Meet the Challenge, Draw Down Matching Grant
Spring donors have enabled us to finish drawing down the full $25,000 challenge grant issued by the Anonymous Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation. "These donations support our ability to complete renovations to our offices this summer so that we have the capacity to expand our services as early as September of this year," explained Executive Director Alissa Friedman. "In these times, it is a powerful statement of values, of commitment to community and to building families' economic capacity." The challenge grant matched new contributions by new donors and any increases over total FY2007-08 levels by continuing donors. We are grateful to the following FY2008-09 donors:
Ask the Tech: Ryan FernandesRyan Fernandes is our volunteer IT Consultant and the Chief Technology Consultant for East County Tech. If you have a question about your computer you would like answered in our next newsletter, email Ryan at AsktheTech AT opportunityjunction DOT org.Dear IT Tech, I am very frustrated! My partner loves to play games on the PC, and paid for a subscription to what was Real Arcade and is now GameHouse. However, every time she downloads a new game, a load of adware/spyware seems to come with it, slowing the computer to a crawl. Tired of constantly re-scanning the computer with tools like Spybot and Ad-Aware, I conducted a search on the Internet for games, free or paid, that come free of spyware – but even articles from reputable writers led me to sites that bring spyware with their games, or that had only very uninteresting and unattractive games. I use AVG Anti-Virus, and would use any tool that would prevent spyware and viruses as long as the tool didn't itself slow the computer to a crawl - I’ve tried Norton, for example, and it made the computer (4 year old PC/ running Windows XP/ 1 GB RAM) unusable. HELP! Yours, Dear Wondering, The only safe arcade-style game site I can think of is www.miniclip.com. The games are mostly built on the Macromedia platform and are less likely to have spyware on them. I have played them without any virus/spyware issues. I do recommend you install an anti-virus/spy/malware suite on your PC such as McAfee (with on-access scan enabled for reads & writes). On PCs with older processors, anti-virus suites will slow down the performance. In that case you may have to upgrade your PC hardware to a faster processor. However, if the user disables the anti-virus software or continues an infected installation when warned, antivirus software won't prevent the malware from being installed on the PC. Hope this helps! Regards, Ryan Fernandes
Alumni NewsWish ListMany thanks to those who have already responded with gifts and offers. Here is our current wish list:
New Grants and Support for our ProgramsAs we go to press, we are proud to announce funding partnerships with the following organizations:
Funding and In-Kind PartnersOpportunity Junction wishes to acknowledges all of its corporate, foundation and government funders, sponsors, and in-kind providers: Volunteer Spotlight: Jane Collett
It is fair to say that without Jane Collett, there would be no Opportunity Junction. A founder of the Friends group that helped us reach out to more volunteers and more donors, Jane has been the primary organizer of almost every Opportunity Junction event. Whether the event was a Graduation Ceremony to honor the achievements of our program participants or a fundraising Gala to maintain our programs, Jane has applied her leadership and vision to achieve phenomenal success. In addition, she has drawn in friends and family to help out with time and resources through her enthusiasm for Opportunity Junction and, more particularly, for the program alumni who have turned Jane's volunteer activities have included leading two Girl Scout troops, seven years of Pony Club in East County, and supporting high school activities in Lafayette. When not involved in volunteer activities, she may be found playing golf, riding a bike or a horse, skiing or backpacking. Jane says, "Working with Opportunity Junction has been a great pleasure. It's enabled me to help people in the larger Contra Costa community who really need that help." Opportunity Junction Hiring PartnersHiring Partners are companies that agree to consider Opportunity Junction Job Training and Placement Program graduates as candidates for job openings where appropriate, as well as to consider other forms of support, such as participating in the Mentor Program.To join them and to help us place Job Training and Placement participants into good jobs with opportunities for advancement, fill out our very simple Memorandum of Understanding. Many thanks to our other Opportunity Junction Hiring Partners:
Friends of Opportunity JunctionThe Friends of Opportunity Junction are an energetic, talented group of women dedicated to supporting Opportunity Junction's work in the community. We are thrilled with their efforts to publicize our work, help with special events and donor development, and support the staff in innumerable ways. They are: Anne Launt, Beth Bissell, Betty Stokes, Denise Silicani, Frances Wallace, Helen Loewenstein, Jan Monteyne, Jane Collett, Judy Johnson, Jules Campbell, Karla Massie, Kathy Burke, Kathy Leahy, Mary Ann Shattuck, Mary Jane Arnold, Mary Jane Hargrove, Maureen Wilhelm, Norma Evans, Pam Elliott, Pamela Halloran, Patricia Shattuck, Sarah Morrill, Selma Moore, Sue George, and Sue Kidd. Ways to Get InvolvedIf you share our vision, we'll find a way to help you get involved - whatever your schedule, whatever your resources. You can:
Contact the Opportunity Junction StaffWe welcome your feedback and involvement in our program. You can reach any of us by telephone at (925) 776-1133. Staff emails are all in the form firstname AT opportunityjunction DOT org. For inquiries about:
The Opportunity Junction Board of Directors
The Opportunity Junction Advisory BoardThe Advisory Board consists of community members who provide valuable advice and other assistance in support of our mission to fight poverty by helping low-income Contra Costa residents gain the competence and confidence to support themselves and their families. They are:
You may unsubscribe from our periodic emails here. Please note that we do not sell or lease our email newsletter list to anyone. Newsletter Contributors: Alissa Friedman, Brianna Burkman, Jesse Golden, and Ryan Fernandes.
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Even though Rachelle Norton had experience as an event coordinator, she struggled to find a job. After months of searching unsuccessfully, Rachelle felt overwhelmed and frustrated. "I even cried in an interview when I flunked the computer skills assessment," Rachelle shares. "I knew I needed help, but I didn't know where to turn."
Natalie also helped Rachelle connect with 
happen.
Do you need temporary help in your office? Data entry, answering phones, filing, customer service? Our new graduates are ready and willing to help! And if you find that there’s a good fit for a permanent position, there’s no fee involved. Further, a tax credit of up to $9,000 may be available for permanent hires! Let us know how we can help you – contact DataWorks Manager 
Opportunity Junction is pleased to welcome Danae Lui to our permanent staff as our new Computer Skills Instructor. Danae has been a volunteer with the evening program since 2003 teaching the Computer Basics and Excel series of classes. Danae retired from Dow Chemical’s Pittsburg plant in 2008 after 30 years of service in a variety of engineering and management positions.
In addition, Michael Tress just completed his first week as DataWorks Manager working with participants during the intern phase of the Job Training and Placement Program. Michael comes to Opportunity Junction with over 15 years of professional experience in software engineering. His primary focus has been in designing and building business applications for steel companies. He has also worked for companies dealing with education software and variable compensation packages. 
Pittsburg Adult Education Center (PAEC) has partnered with Opportunity Junction since 2003, paying the teacher’s salary for the evening program’s English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, as well as paying a portion of the software instructor’s salary for the Opportunity Junction Job Training and Placement Program. Due to state budget cuts, that funding ends on June 5.
their lives around and launched self-sustaining careers.