November 2020 Featured Alum: Tenisa Pelesauma
The staff at Opportunity Junction made me want to aim for the stars - so I did!
It's been a year full of changes and reinvention in the workplace.
Tenisa Pelesauma, graduate of Opportunity Junction's first ever fully
remote Administrative Career Training (ACT) class 62, knows that better than most!
Tenisa's first big change came when her job driving a commercial truck ended in May 2020. The money was great, but Tenisa was terribly unhappy and ready to find a new career. She knew she wanted to get into the administrative field to provide stability for her two young children and to utilize her strength in customer service and her passion for helping people. Opportunity Junction's ACT program had the training she needed with the flexibility of learning remotely.
New Grants
We are proud and grateful to announce the following new grants and
funding partnerships:
Antioch Community Foundation: The Antioch Community Foundation renewed its support for the Administrative Careers Training Program. This local foundation support organizations working in the following areas: youth services, economic security and health, and community services.
Our First Fully Online Class Graduates!
On September 25th, 13 graduates of the Administrative Careers Training Program celebrated their completion of the program in a Zoom graduation ceremony. Seventy-five people, including the graduates, family, friends, community members, Opportunity Junction staff, current trainees, and alumni, attended our celebration of their accomplishments.
Register Today to Be a Voter!
Being a voter is the best way to make sure your voice is heard. Fortunately, California
makes it easy! Link to California Online Voter Registration
to register
to vote or check your registration status. Future voters aged 16 and 17 can even pre-register!
Meeting the Surge in Demand
The pivot to online programming was forced on all of us this March. At Opportunity Junction, this meant quickly developing the infrastructure to deliver training, career counseling, and employer introductions over the Internet. We're committed to studying the outcomes of these involuntary experiments.
September 2020 Featured Alumni: Gwen Moore
I am really happy with what I do now ... and I am making more than I ever thought I could!
In 2011, just before her 8th anniversary working as a school bus operator and trainer
for First Student in Richmond, Gwenette Moore suffered an injury that took her out of work.
Gwen was eager to get a new job, but realized she needed to update her skills to get into the administrative field.
She enrolled in Opportunity Junction's Administrative Careers Training program.
Travis Credit Union Matching Dollar for Dollar!
At Opportunity Junction, our job seekers are determined to get back into the job market and launch their careers.
Job training classes are successfully operating remotely. Our candidates are successfully earning positions with a number of our employer partners.
The pandemic has made things more difficult for our job seekers and alumni. Fully 77% of our alumni and job seekers report employment-related needs for themselves or a household member. We are committed to meeting those needs, and you can help!
New Grants
We are proud and grateful to announce the following new grants and
funding partnerships:
Ahlsten Foundation: The Ahlsten Foundation is a new donor to Opportunity Junction, providing an unrestricted grant which the organization will use to address critical needs. The Ahlsten Foundation has a passion and a vision for a better world through the support of education, the improvement of health, and the alleviation of human suffering.
July 2020 Featured Client: Maria Acosta
Opportunity Junction's counseling filled me with hope, joy, and optimism.
With a strong work history and a love for lifelong learning, Maria Acosta was stunned to find herself among the 2.4 million Californians out of work by April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After a couple weeks at home, she knew she wanted to get back to work.
"I was feeling really stressed out about my living situation and about COVID-19. Staying at home for even a short time was making me feel depressed. A Contra Costa County Navigator connected me to SparkPoint." Maria shares.
FY2019-20 Year-in-Review: Nimble and Determined
Dear Opportunity Junction Community,
Thank you for your support in all forms during this past year. Your partnership means even more during this period of crisis. Between the day when our fiscal year started on July 1, 2019 and the day when it closed on June 30, 2020, the world shifted radically from under our feet.
The bottom line, if you'd like it up front, is that our entire organization has been nimble and determined to provide continuity for the motivated job seekers we serve. Employer partners are successfully recruiting our graduates. Volunteer trainers and mock interviewers have learned to use Zoom. Every program except onsite public computer access has pivoted to online delivery. Even the 2020 Imagine Gala pivoted to a virtual format that has become a model for many of our community partners, thanks to your support.
Class 61 Trainees Overcome Adversity, Graduate Despite Pandemic
On June 25th, 12 graduates of the Administrative Careers Training Program celebrated their completion of the program in a Zoom graduation ceremony.
Seventy-nine people, including the graduates,
family, friends, community members, Opportunity Junction staff, current trainees, and alumni, attended Opportunity Junction's first ever online graduation.
Read more: Class 61 Trainees Overcome Adversity, Graduate Despite Pandemic
3102 Delta Fair Blvd., Antioch, CA 94509,
phone (925) 776-1133
Opportunity Junction is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, Tax ID 68-0459131.
