Career Connectors offers hope for people looking for a job
BY LYNETTE CARRINGTON
After staying home to raise her children, Sheila Coulam wanted to reenter the workforce and return to her professional career.
Four years ago she found success with the help of Career Connectors. The nonprofit offers assistance with resumes and job interviews, presents keynote speakers and a chance to network and learn about companies that are hiring in the Valley. The organization also encourages its members and attendees to network to find that next job opportunity.
āThey have a lot of speakers that tell you how to job search, Coulam says. āYou can Google all that, but itās different when you have a person telling you their story and their experience.ā
She also liked that she could practice her networking skills in a relaxed environment. Coulam credits those skills she learned through Career Connectors in landing a job within her own circle of connections at SEO Services as an account manager and then as director of operations.
The job market has been a rollercoaster for many people like Coulam in the Valley over the past several years, which is why one enterprising Chandler resident and former Intel executive took her skill set and put it to good use through her church by founding Career Connectors.
The organization launched in 2010 and received its 501(c)(3) status in 2012.
āIn the last five and a half years Career Connectors has served 11,000 Valley residents and in the East Valley weāve served at least 5,000,ā says Jessica Pierce, Career Connectors founder.
āThe way we help others is through connections, resources and hope. People come to our events and return to our events because it is a significant place of resources and hope in their careers.ā
While she was with Intel, Pierce was charged with training, organizational development and human resources. She was able to travel the world for Intel University.
āI got to work with leaders and executive staff on their teams, revamping their teams and helping them to produce better results,ā explains Pierce.
She left Intel in 2007 to run a staffing agency servicing land development and real estate clients. In 2009, the bottom fell out of the real estate market and the business closed.
āAt the same time, my husband had been laid off three times in six months,ā Pierce says. āBoth of us were literally not working.ā
Connectorsā next meeting in Gilbert will be held 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, at Central Christian Church, Gilbert Campus Student Center.
Pierce grappled with returning to a corporate job or doing something else. She briefly took a contract job as a trainer with the U.S. Census when it had a Valley office.
āI went to Central Christian Church and said, āCan I volunteer and help people that need some resume assistance?āā Pierce says.
āThey said, āYes! Oh my gosh, people are calling us every day.āā
Pierceās husband was confused about her wanting to volunteer during a financially trying time. She began assisting people with their resumes once a week at Central Christian in Gilbert and then expanded that to two nights a month in the Gilbert church and two nights in its Mesa church.
āAbout two months into that, we were
having 20 or 30 people showing up. We were helping them write resumes, bringing in speakers and this thing just started happening,ā Pierce adds.
Cal Jernigan, the senior pastor of Central Christian Church, called Pierce and asked if she would appear on stage at services and discuss her volunteer work. He wanted to give the congregation an idea of what it was like to serve.
The day after the services, there were more than 250 people lined up around the church asking for job-related assistance.
āAs it continued to grow, I tried to figure out the best way to serve more people and that was turning it into a
Career
Submitted photo
nonprofit and connecting with other churches in the Valley,ā adds Pierce.
What began as a service to the church became a service to the community and monthly meetings are open to anyone.
The nonprofit meets each month at Central Christian Church in Gilbert on the fourth Tuesday, Highlands Church in Scottsdale on the second Thursday and North Phoenix Baptist Church in Phoenix on the first Wednesday. There is no charge to attend.
Coulamās job is winding down since her employer is shifting focus and Coulam is job searching with Career Connectors again.
āThe other big thing Career Connectors did for me was that I stepped in to volunteer and that gave me confidence in my own skills,ā Coulam explains about previously managing the Gilbert location of Career Connectors.
During each Career Connectors meeting each month participants listen to a keynote speaker for 45 minutes who covers a job search topic. Representatives from a handful of employers that are hiring will also be on site to speak about their companies, available jobs and corporate culture.
āOur target market is the professional level positions,ā notes Pierce.
Some of the companies that have attended past Career Connectors include Charles Schwab, Insight, GM IT Innovation Center, Verizon Wireless, PayPal and Infusionsoft.
āWe require for those companies to have 10 or more professional level jobs to come out,ā Pierce explains.
Spirituality
Founder of nonproļ¬t organization Career Connectors, Jessica Pierce has found her calling by creating a nonproļ¬t that helps people ļ¬nd jobs and sharpen their networking and interviewing skills. Submitted photo
Now, Pierceās primary job is running Career Connectors and she also handles hiring and staffing of churches and faithbased nonprofit organizations.
The March Career Connectors meeting is from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, at Central Christian Churchās Student Center at 965 E. Germann Rd., Gilbert. Visit www.careerconnectors.org for a full schedule and information.
Lynette Carrington is a freelancer for the SanTan Sun News. She can be reached at lynette@santansun.com.
āWe have grown a lot and need to expand so we can ļ¬t everyone and reach more people,ā says Executive Pastor Marty Sawyers.
The worship center seats about 1,300 congregants. Church ofļ¬cials plan on doubling the occupancy.
Located on Alma School Road, south of the Loop 202, Cornerstone Christian Fellowship is hoping to ļ¬nish the expansion by spring 2017.
The three new buildings will provide more classrooms, space for children and adult ministries, and an early childhood center for children in ļ¬rst through sixth grades along with a maintenance building.
āThe building process will be completed in three separate phases, one phase for each new building,ā says Stephanie Diaz, executive director for childrenās ministries.
According to Diaz, Cornerstone gives parents the choice to put their children in select child-friendly programs so the adults can study in advanced or classic classes.
The child programs offer different levels of learning and separate learning styles for each age group. Younger child
development classes are divided into grade levels of ļ¬rst and second grade, third and fourth grade, and ļ¬fth and sixth grade. The classrooms will each house a stage for the children to act out each lesson.
āEach class offers a theatrical style of learning made for children to have fun while learning,ā Diaz says. āOur goal is to help the children enjoy each lesson so much that when they go back to their parents, they are begging them to come back again.ā
The number of congregants has grown since the church was founded in 1995 by Pastor Linn Winters and his wife, Lisa. This expansion is not Cornerstoneās ļ¬rst, according to the churchās website.
Cornerstone initially met in an apartment clubhouse. As more people started joining the meetings, the group was expanded to 328 people who then attended the ļ¬rst Sunday service at Kyrene de las Brisas Elementary School. A church was built in January 2001 after the congregation hit the 500-member mark.
Cornerstone offers services from 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays and during various times throughout the week.
Jordan Garberding is a student at ASUās Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She can be reached at news@santansun.com.
Spiritual Reflections
Share your spiritual reļ¬ections...
The spiritual leaders of SanTan Sun area churches, temples, mosques and other religious and spiritual gathering places are invited to contribute their Spiritual Reļ¬ections in essay format by sending their thoughts, enlightening insights and other writings of a spiritual nature to News@SanTanSun.com. Be certain to put āSpiritual Reļ¬ections submissionā in the subject line, and keep your articles around 200-300 words, or they may be edited for length. Include your ļ¬rst and last name, title and facility name, address, phone number and website.
Spiritual Reļ¬ections are printed on a space-available basis, and submission does not guarantee print. The opinions represented in this column are those of the author and not that of the SanTan Sun News.
Hadassah Devorah Chapter is hosting its ļ¬rst Rummikub Tournament on Sunday, March 15, at East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Dr., Chandler.
Rummikub is a tile-based game for two to four players.
Itās an afternoon full of fun with registration from 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.; buffet lunch from 12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.; introduction to the rules at 12:45 p.m. and the tournament at 1 p.m. There will also be prizes, rafļ¬es and a silent auction. The fee is $15 for early registration, before Feb. 28; or $18 after March 1. Checks should be made to: Devorah Chapter Hadassah and mailed to Scheck, 2600 E. Springļ¬eld Pl., Suite 4, Chandler, AZ 85286. Include an e-mail address with reservations.
High Tea & Fashion Show set for March
Aging, healthy lifestyle topics of Sisterhood meeting in Sun Lakes
Getting old is not for sissies. Aches, pains and diseases cause worry and concern. Alternative treatments have gained acceptance as MDās have embraced and integrated approach to healing.
Dr. Martha Grout is the medical director of the Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine practice in Scottsdale. The center āis dedicated to the reversal of chronic illness, integrating the best of alternative and traditional medicine to educate and empower patients on the road to health.ā
Grout, and nutritionist Shelley Heinley, will speak about how to age well, to have a healthy life and how alternative healing methods work with traditional western medicine to give patients the best treatment of both worlds.
The program will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 18, in the Chapel House at Sun Lakes.
Heinley has a MS in natural health and
The High Tea & Fashion Show will be held at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 1, in the Sun Lakes Country Clubās newly remodeled Arizona Room. Draperās and Damonās will present āChic and Comfortable Classics for Females of all Shapes and Sizes.ā Finger
graduated with her MSNH specializing in nutrition. Grout has 25 years of emergency room experience and is the author of āAn Alphabet of Good Health in a Sick World.ā Copies of her book will be available.
Sisterhood has been invited to attend the Tuesday, March 3, Menās Club meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Chapel House for a speaking engagement by the head of emergency services at the newly expanded Chandler Regional Hospital.
As always, donations from Toys from the Heart are welcome. Send them to Phyllis, at 3495 E. Country Down Dr., Chandler, 85249.
Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation Sisterhood held its annual Card Party and Luncheon on Tuesday, Feb. 3. It was a huge success, due to the participation and contributions by members of the community and sisterhood. The board would like to thank every person who helped.
sandwiches and dessert are the featured food.
The event will also include door prizes, rafļ¬e prizes and a rafļ¬e for a hat with 50 $1 bills attached.
Chandler Presbyterian holding Devotional Series through Lent
Chandler Presbyterian Church is holding Devotional Series through Lent in the sanctuary at the church, 1900 S. Arrowhead Dr., Chandler.
The series will be held on at 11 a.m. Tuesdays. The Tuesday morning pilgrimage through Lent will demonstrate the Bibleās amazing capacity to guide, inspire and connect individuals to the source of all life and love.
On Feb. 24, the series will include āFinding Our Way Through LifeāThe Bible as a Road Map;ā March 3 is āLocating our Place in Sacred PurposeāThe Bible for GPS Positioning;ā March 10 is āPreparing Ourselves for the JourneyāThe Bible for Faith Formation;ā March 17 is āLearning to Stay on the CourseāThe Bible as Moral Compassā and March 24 is āKeeping in Touch with Loved OnesāThe Bible as Spiritual Experience.ā
Tickets for the event are $25 and will be sold at the Arizona Room from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays and Fridays, as well as from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at ACE Hardware on Riggs Road on Tuesdays. Tables of eight or 10 can be reserved.
For reservations and questions, call Margo at (480) 895-3226. Tickets can be delivered to Sun Lakes homes.
Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation meets second Friday each month
The Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation is an established reform congregation that meets at the Sun Lakes Chapel at 7:30 p.m. the second Friday of each month. Services are a great opportunity to meet new people, connect with Judaism and learn. New attendees are invited to be introduced at the service while members of the congregation connect with these attendees. Oneg Shabbats are held immediately after the service at Sun Lakes Country Club. Everyone is invited to attend. The Oneg Shabbats provide the opportunity to meet members, ask questions and learn more about the congregation.
On Friday, Feb. 13, the service was conducted by the SLIC Sisterhood. The evening focused on women in science. Members of the SLIC Sisterhood participated in all parts of the service, including the torah reading and sermon.
On Saturday, April 4, SLIC will hold its annual Passover Seder at the Sun Lakes Country Club. This is an opportunity to share Passover with friends and family without having to cook. The cost is $40 per adult; $12 per child 4 to 12 years old and free for children 3 and younger. Rabbi Irwin Weiner will conduct the Seder. Everyone is welcome. Food will be catered by Heidiās Events and Catering.
Passover festivities are meant to evoke empathy for past suffering and encourage observers to strengthen Jewish culture and community. The holiday is also called the Spring Festival because it coincides with the start of the Israeli harvest season, celebrating spring and rebirth.
Passover is observed on the 15th of
Nissan on the Jewish lunar calendar, which usually occurs in April on the Gregorian calendar. The holiday stems from the religious story of the 10 plagues, in which God forced the Egyptian pharaoh to release the enslaved Jews by causing a series of catastrophic events. For the ļ¬nal plague, God took the lives of the ļ¬rstborn child in every family, including the Pharaohās son. However, the Angel of Death āpassed overā the homes of the Jews, sparing their children from the deadly plague.
The holiday starts with a dinner ceremony, known as a Seder, and lasts eight days in Israel and seven days worldwide. Observers abstain from work at the beginning and end of Passover and temporarily remove all leavened bread from their diets, replacing it with an unleavened bread known as matzah. This important tradition honors the exiled Jews, who ļ¬ed their homes so hastily that they could not allow their bread to rise properly.
Shalom Chapter of Hadassah schedules art museum tour
The Shalom Chapter of Hadassah ļ¬nished 2014 with a bang with its Chillinā & Grillinā Barbecue, a wine and cheese party, a trip to see the āSound of Musicā and its annual shopping spree to Chicoās and other stores. These events were successful in raising funds for its chapterās charitable work. The chapter also had a great lineup of programs on Reiki, its holiday recipe exchange, a book review and lunches.
On Thursday, March 5, the chapter will go to the Phoenix Art Museum for a tour of āFashioned in Americaā with lunch at the Museum Cafe. The exhibit features how economics, ecology and labor ethics
are driving a revival of fashion design made in the United States. Featuring more than 40 ensembles and accessories, āFashioned in Americaā highlights work by contemporary designers whose vision and talent are invigorating the revival of U.S. clothing manufacturing. For reservations, call Diane at (480) 895-6917 or Judi at (480) 802-4944.
On Saturday, March 7, āMy Fair Lady,ā will be presented at the Hale Centre Theatre in Gilbert at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 and checks can be made to Shalom Hadassah and sent to Marcia at 10621 E. Champagne Dr., Sun Lakes, 85248.
Perfect Place celebrates volunteers at annual luncheon
Volunteers for the Perfect Place were celebrated at the annual appreciation luncheon, which was held Feb. 12, at Palo Verde Country Club.
Musicians and a variety of entertainers also attended and were honored for their contributions. Musicians, clowns, individuals who play the piano, organ, guitar and a barbershop quartet share their talent with those at the Perfect Place.
Volunteers offer personalized care and are a respite while their loved ones are being happily entertained in a safe and secure environment.
For more information, contact Judy Waltersdorf at (480) 895-2892, or send an email to ThePerfectPlace85248@ gmail.com. The Perfect Place is located at 23914 S. Alma School Rd., Sun Lakes on the campus of the Risen Savior Lutheran Church.
Author Frank Schaeffer discusses journey at One Church
New York Times bestselling author Frank Schaeffer will speak live at 10 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, at One Church, located at Xtreme Air Park, 910 E. Pecos Rd., Chandler.
Schaeffer is the son of famous evangelical theologian Francis Schaeffer. He left the religious right in the late 1980s and began writing about his spiritual journey of faith and doubt.
He is the author of several books including āCrazy for God,ā and his newest release āWhy Iām An Atheist Who Believes in God.ā
Schaeffer has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, āTodayā and āThe Oprah Winfrey Show.ā
Woman discusses her conversion in presentation at Pollack Chabad Center
At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, Michele Sankar will present āFrom Church to Chulent,ā at Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N. McClintock Dr., Chandler. The event is free.
Sankar began her life as a religious Roman Catholic in small-town Ontario before a personal journey led her to become a Torah-observant Jew. She lives
with her husband and three children in Toronto where she is a teacher. Sankar plays an active role in her synagogue community.
Call (480) 855-4333, email info@ chabadcenter.com or visit www. chabadcenter.com for more information and to RSVP.
