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Nonprofit group links employers with job seekers By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com
COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE CENTER/ PROVIDED
More than 400 jobseekers scout out small and large employers Sept. 10 at the Sandy Springs Connects! Career Expo, hosted by the Community Assistance Center within the Studio Theatre at City Springs. The biannual job fair continues to grow, nonprofit leaders said.
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Francis K. Horton III, chief executive officer at the Community Assistance Center, said there are two sides to the growth of the nonprofit’s biannual Sandy Springs Connects! Career Expo. The Central Perimeter nonprofit hosts a variety of programs for low-income families, including career assistance, food, clothing, essentials, tax preparation and youth programs. Its Career Center launched in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Horton said attendance at the job fair continues to climb, and the trend indicates that needs are growing in the community – from the unemployed and the underemployed. “Generally, across our programming, almost 77 percent of the folks that come to us for help are already working at least one job,” he said. “Prices are up everywhere. Wages haven’t tracked. So, they’re a flat tire away from a crisis for their family.” Horton said the Community Assistance Center’s clientele has changed over time, and it’s generally the “working poor” coming to the nonprofit for help. The Sept. 10 job fair featured a host of Sandy Springs’ Fortune 500 companies, public institutions and several local businesses, including United Parcel Service, State Farm, Graphic Packaging International, InterContinental Hotels and Fulton County Schools. Sandy Springs is home to six Fortune 500 companies, hundreds of mid-size companies, and thousands of small businesses that offer a wide range of career and industry opportunities.
See EXPO, Page 13