Archives for Community Involvement

On Saturday evening, December 10, 2011, the Richmond KRA/Resource Center team arrived at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) with delicious southern fare to serve the families staying there.  The RMH liaison had requested a traditional southern meal instead of the normal holiday fare, and the KRA team was up to the task. After a long day at the hospital, visiting their children, the families enjoyed a feast of baked and fried chicken, potato salad, cole slaw, green beans, mashed potatoes, cabbage, potato cakes, and rice and corn puddings for deserts.  Gary Fletcher, KRA Program Manager, reported, “A mother and her
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As part of KRA’s annual company-wide Community Care Day Initiative, eight volunteers from the KRA/Camden (NJ) adult and youth workforce program staff visited the local Ronald McDonald House on December 5, 2011, and brought with them enough chicken fingers, salad, sixteen-bean soup, Texas toast, juice, and desert to feed 45 members of families whose seriously ill children are receiving care/treatment at Cooper Medical Center. Using efficient division-of-labor methodology, Georgia Ranton, KRA Program Assistant, shopped for the food, and prepared the soup, while Camilia Quinones, KRA Quality Assurance Specialist, acted as event coordinator: assigning kitchen responsibilities and food stations to team
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On December 9, 2011, KRA staff from each adult and youth SC Works program in the Waccamaw Region of South Carolina visited a group home or independent living facility for youth, in the County in which the KRA office is located. The visits were part of KRA’s company-wide Community Care Day Initiative, a day of volunteerism to celebrate the joy of giving and sharing good works with neighbors in the communities KRA serves. To obtain gifts for the youth, all offices staged drives to solicit donations from staff and from KRA partner-businesses and organizations in the three communities. Contributions and
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Staff from KRA Headquarters (HQ) and KRA’s newest project in Baltimore, Maryland, kicked-off this year’s Community Care Day Initiative on Sunday, December 4 , 2011.  As previously reported, on November 23, Knowlton R. Atterbeary, KRA President & CEO, officially launched 2011 Community Care Day, a company-wide volunteer program created in 2009 to celebrate the joy of giving and sharing good works with neighbors in the communities KRA serves. The event was held at the Baltimore Ronald McDonald House, which is a very special place that provides a loving home-away-from-home for up to 36 out-of-town families at a time while their
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On November 23, 2011, Knowlton R. Atterbeary officially launched the firm’s 2011 Community Care Day, a company-wide initiative created in 2009 to celebrate the joy of giving and sharing good works with customers and neighbors in the communities the firm serves.  He stated, “With each passing year, I feel an increased sense of pride in the commitment that KRA and its staff demonstrate to the communities we serve. Staff at every project site and HQ regularly volunteer time and expertise, or raising financial or in-kind donations, to support a wide variety of community causes.  Then, once a year, we increase
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The Johnson Stewart Community Center (JSCC), located in the heart of a high-poverty area of Hartford’s north end, is the site of a new KRA/CTWorks initiative…a community-based program that provides much-needed workforce development services. Through the “Portal” program, Robert Cauley, KRA/CTWorks Job Developer, and JSCC staff will assist residents with accessing valuable services and resources available to them, such as Capital Workforce Partners’, KRA’s client, youth programs, and CTWorks’ career readiness, employment, and training services for adults. Training workshops on resume-writing, workplace-readiness, advanced job-searching techniques, interviewing skills, and networking will be offered right there at the JSCC facility. For more intense and/or
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On Saturday, October 29, 2011, the Imani Community Development Corporation (ICDC) and the Greater Richmond Urban League will be sponsoring a Meet & Greet Workforce Resource Fair. The KRA/RESOURCE Workforce Center (RWC) Program will serve as co-host for the event, which is the brain child of Lydia Brown, KRA Career Agent, who’s been planning the agenda for the past several months. In addition to several other dignitaries, Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones and Councilwoman Ellen Robertson have agreed to attend and welcome the participants. When asked how the idea for the community-outreach event came to be, Ms. Brown stated, “Sonji Rollins Tucker,
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Kimberly Staley, KRA Program Manager, and Paul Gagne, KRA Job Developer, were members of the winning CTWorks Team that raised more than $1,300 for Connecticut’s Youth Employment Scholarship Program (YESP)! The race was part of the Hartford Marathon’s X-Treme Scramble Series. In addition to KRA staff, other CTWorks runners included representatives from Capital Workforce Partners (CWP), KRA’s client; the CT DOL; and Career TEAM. Ram Aberasturia, Hartford CTWorks Center Director and CWP Board Member, came up with the idea to enter the race to help build CTWorks camaraderie while at the same time, through the YESP, helping the region’s future
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Forgoing a well-deserved Saturday off, on September 3, 2011, KRA/Resource Workforce Center staff were among 50 “vendors”…local businesses, civic groups, and other organizations…that participated in the 5th Annual Northside We Care Festival, held at the Hotchkiss Community Center in Richmond, Virginia. The exciting Festival attracted more than 200 community residents…adults and children of all ages…and offered food, fun, and information about community resources.  The KRA/Resource table created a great deal of interest among Festival goers, including current program participants. KRA staff talked one-on-one with residents and distributed How May We Help You forms, KRA/Resource Workforce Center Application Packets, informational WIA
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At 8:30am on June 25, 2011, staff volunteers from the Henrico County KRA/Resource Program met up with “Julia”, Operation Paintbrush Supervisor, to begin painting the home of a local elderly couple. Unfortunately, some “prep” work on the main structure was still in progress, so the house was not quite ready for a complete face lift. Undaunted, the KRA team grabbed brushes, ladders, and paint and got busy on the house’s trim. Ignoring the heat, the team enjoyed the morning’s task and felt great about helping older citizens who lack the ability to take on such tasks themselves. Once the trim
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