We are ecstatic to announce that we have been named a Community Redzone Sponsor by our friends at the Philadelphia Eagles Organization, in partnership with Philadelphia Insurance Companies! It is an honor to have a new found partnership with our hometown team, especially with the recent opening of our Kensington location.
Three of our young professionals recently got the chance to attend the Eagles vs. Giants game where we were recognized on the field, and set up an information booth for attendees and fans to learn more. This recognition brings more awareness to our mission of placing young professionals in permanent jobs - in Camden, Philadelphia, and beyond.
Timothy, who is one of our first Kensington trainees to successfully complete training and begin an internship, was in attendance and said the experience was everything.
“I’ve never been in the stands for an Eagles win, not to mention, we were working with the Birds for a good cause. Hopeworks made that happen.”
Thank you everyone at the Philadelphia Eagles Organization for your support - let’s continue to make history!
Our 3rd Annual Pitch Competition was a major success! Our entrepreneurs pitched their businesses to a panel of industry leaders, gained insightful feedback, and even sold their products/services on site to family and friends after the event.
The 1st place winner was Natalie Nieves, the Founder of Bold Creations, a graphic design business and our 2nd place winner was Brianna Smith, the Founder of Kraftii Kouture, a handcrafted jewelry business. Every participant was also awarded $1,000 in funding for their business thanks to a generous donation!
Natalie, an intern in the Web Department, was only 15 years old when she started Bold Creations, making flyers for her friend’s house parties. Ever since, Bold Creations has flourished, expanded, and moved onto becoming a freelance graphic design business that specializes in branding. The funding she received from the competition will help her business grow in many ways.
“The Pitch competition has helped my business tremendously! I can now begin to look for office space to separate my work life from my home life. I ️can also officially invest into another brand photoshoot to take my content and work to the next level.”
Thank you to all of our participants (Nyree, Michael, Kyla, Peggy, Brianna, and Natalie ) - our incredible judges, and our sponsors - Holman Automotive, NJM Insurance Group, and Square for supporting our mission.
Hopeworks staff recently accompanied a group of young professionals to visit the Technology Facility for the Philadelphia Phillies. The trip included a ballpark tour, staff discussion, refreshments, and a visit of the data center.
Da’Shek explained more about the experience and how the young professionals were able to see a completely different side of a local professional sports team.
"Hopeworks Young Professionals and Staff have been invited to visit with the Tech Department of the Phillies Center. They were taken on a guided tour of the facilities and heard a group discussion with the IT Department's staff regarding their roles and day-to-day operations. "
Matthew Bryan was an amazing tour guide and did an excellent job explaining the correlation between Player experiences and the roles they play within the organization.”
Opportunities like these are incredibly valuable for Hopeworks' young professionals because they display the vast amount of career fields that exist in the world. There are so many technical, behind-the-scenes jobs that are in desperate need of diversifying their space, and Hopeworks helps with that.
Thank you to the Phillies organization and Matthew Bryan for the invite and an unforgettable experience!
A huge congratulations is in order for former Training Room Intern Tony Morales who recently joined the GIS Team! Tony will be a GIS Team lead working with clients such as American Water, Comcast and more.
Everyone who knows, or has interacted with Tony can say how much he embodies the spirit of Hopeworks with his enthusiasm, passion, and care for others.
Tony’s day-to-day responsibilities will consist of supporting the operations of the GIS department by entering and managing data along with keeping track of interns by monitoring their attendance, daily quotas, and conducting supervisions to ensure job-readiness.
Tony says that the support and belief of Hopeworks has been paramount to his growth and development.
“When I initially received my offer letter, shock flowed through my body. I had reminisced about everything I’ve learned and experienced, and to see that Hopeworks believed enough in me to offer me a permanent position was mesmerizing. My Hopeworks journey refined valuable skills I possessed, such as project management and software usage. These skills will help with my transition to becoming a full-time staff member at Hopeworks.”
We are excited to announce the recent arrival of four new staff members to the Hopeworks team! We recently welcomed Becca Brown and Lolita Beylina as Career Readiness Coaches, John Kissling as our new Web Director, and Julia Endrizzi as our new Training Room Manager.
Becca has been connected to Hopeworks for a long time and brings massive experience in coaching, child welfare, and youth development to our team. John brings years of Web Development experience as the owner of his own Web Design firm and brings an incredible skill set and dedication to our mission. Lolita will bring extensive HR and recruitment experience to our Career Readiness Team, and Julia will bring years of teaching experience and unparalleled energy to our training room.
As we continue to grow, we are always looking to bring new energy and dedicated people to our team, as this allows us to help more and more young professionals!
Last week, Hopeworks hosted our first ever Adult Basic Skills Graduation Ceremony to celebrate young professionals who recently earned their high school diplomas! Family, friends, and Hopeworks team members attended the ceremony at the Kroc Center in Camden to honor their achievements. Keynote speakers included Hopeworks alumni Caloua Lowe, GIS Team Lead Leandra McCullough, and graduates Kayondra Garrison and Elise Vogues!
There was food, fun and fellowship had by all following the ceremony. Each graduate was also presented with a hard copy of their diploma, a Hopeworks swag bag, and a brand new laptop! Thank you to Hopeworks staff Shawneeq and Carol for coordinating this incredible event!
Earlier this month, our GIS Team attended the 2022 ESRI User Conference in San Diego, CA and was awarded the Special Achievement in GIS Education Award!
Our GIS team has provided consistent, quality, work for years to huge clients such as American Water and Comcast. Receiving this award just shows that their hard work has not gone unnoticed and is appreciated by other industry leaders.
“Hopeworks is honored to receive the Special Achievement in GIS Award from Esri at this year’s conference in recognition of our groundbreaking work in using and providing GIS data to create new and more data-driven decisions for businesses,” said Luis Olivieri, the Hopeworks GIS team manager.
Congratulations to all GIS Team managers, leads, and interns! We know there will be more awards to come in the future.
We are happy to announce the recent addition of Arielle Loffredo to our staff as our new Resource Navigator!
Arielle has worked within Head Start for the past 5 years where she built strong relationships with stakeholders and community members within the Camden Community.
Arielle prides herself in being a true thought leader in the Latinx Community. She fights alongside her community for access to education, healthcare, and quality family services.
Arielle completed undergrad education at Wingate University, with a degree in Human Services. She loves to travel to Puerto Rico and considers herself to be a self taught home cook.
Welcome to Hopeworks Arielle! We are eager to begin working with you, and having your expertise aid in supporting our mission.
We are happy to announce the recent addition of Latesha D. Beasley to our staff as our new Director of Youth Development!
Latesha has deep professional roots in the nonprofit and educational sectors, where she has advocated for social justice and sustainable change in pursuit of equity and opportunity for all.
She most recently served as Chief of Staff for North10 Philadelphia, a community development and neighborhood revitalization organization.
Additionally, Latesha also has experience working in the Camden City School District where she supported recruiting, staffing, and diversity initiatives. Latesha attended Rutgers New Brunswick for her undergrad degree, and Villanova University for her Master’s in Public Administration.
Welcome to Hopeworks Latesha! We are eager to begin working with you, and having your expertise aid in supporting our mission.
With another exciting announcement, last month Youth Healing Team lead Jase Elam (they/them) was presented with a prestigious award from one of the top news stations in our region! Jase was named as one of KYW News Radio’s 2022 Game Changers!
During Black History Month, KYW Newsradio’s Game Changers honored 10 individuals or organizations that have made a significant, positive impact in communities of color in the greater Philadelphia region.
Jase was recognized as a leader in their field by helping youth find their power. They are passionate about making mental health resources accessible to marginalized people and breaking the cycle of poverty. Jase talked about how rewarding it is to watch our young professionals evolve.
“Watching people grow and blossom just from the support of being there and of caring — that’s been an incredible thing for me. And that’s something that I always hold with me.”
Congratulations Jase, keep doing amazing things!
