Ad Book Job Fair Oct 2017

A COMMUNITY JOB FAIR TO HELP FIGHT Youth Joblessness!!

At the Nineteenth Century Club October 19th 2017 178 Forest Ave I Oak Park, IL 60301 All Participants are Welcome!!

Making a Difference

A HISTORY OF SERVICE Thirty-two years ago, Kwadwo Antwi-Mensah was a foreign student struggling to find employment while breaking cultural barriers for acceptance. The African American Christian Foundation (AACF) was born out of a dream. The founder of this organization, Dr. Kwadwo Antwi-Mensah, saw in a dream that he was sitting in a church, the church had a very beautiful choir singing beautifully and the people were dressed in colorful clothes. Ever since, there was an intense desire on the part of Dr. Antwi-Mensah to put a group together to study the Bible and also a singing group so his dream could come true.

Acting on his dream, he called a few friends and sent out invitations for people to join him in the study of the Bible. The first meeting was held on January 5, 1985 and attended by a few Ghanaian couples. It was then, the group decided to meet once a month to engage in Bible studies, followed with educational and civic lectures by community and industry leaders. The group grew and move from Dr. Antwi-Mensah’s home to the local park district and later, to an office in Chicago on the corner of Madison and Austin Ave. AACF was incorporated as a non-profit organization in July of 1985.

Seeing a need, Dr. Antwi-Mensah began to assist and place in jobs and internships newly immigrated Ghanaians in the Chicago land area, who were extremely educated but could not find jobs due to cultural and language barriers. For the first nine years, the foundation received no public funds, and Kwadwo continued to complete his education and do any work he could find to subsidize the work of the foundation. In 1994, the County of Cook funded the organization to provide job training and placement services to unemployed and low income adults and youth in the Cook County area of the state of Illinois. The organization expanded to serve the residents of Cook County and in 2010 focused on low income opportunity youths 16 to 24 years of age in need of job placement and job training.

Finding work is the crux of the AACF’s program offering. Clients get assessed and then take courses in job readiness to qualify for job training in three areas: customer service, digital manufacturing, and certified nursing assistant.

Approximately 80 percent of those in the job training program secure job placement and can provide the financial foundation to support, stability, and self-sufficiency.

AACF has become a community leader in the workforce development space in Cook County with innovative training offerings for our program participants to succeed in their occupational goals and prosper to the point of being productive individuals in our neighborhoods helping to increase economic development.

Event Sponsors CARA Staffing Christine Jackson Evelyn Antwi-Mensah Forest Park National Bank Lorena Ayala Pan American Bank Robert Sykes

AACF Board of Directors William Floyd Christine Jackson Laurie Mumford Kwaku Amankwah

Message from the Executive Director Employers, special guests, youth, and attendees, on behalf of the African American Christian Foundation Board of Directors, welcome to our first Community Job Fair held in Oak Park, the only job fair hosted in the Oak Park area and thank you for joining us.

This year's Community Job Fair theme is "Reduce Youth Joblessness". Through this job fair, AACF hopes to expose our youth program participants to the various industries and employment opportunities available to them. Employers will find our youth to be detail-oriented, determined, and dependable with exemplary work ethics. I implore our youth to showcase these qualities as ambassadors of our program.

Staff Evelyn Antwi-Mensah, Executive Director Tami Yarbrough, Program Director Armelia Bailey, Case Manager Victor Aranibar, Case Manager Lorena Mendez, Program Analyst Arif Longe, Orientation Specialist Channa Cole, Jr. Case Manager

A huge "Thank You" goes to all of our 2017 Community Job Fair sponsors. I hope the partnerships that have been established will continue beyond today's event and reap gains that far exceed our expectations.

Finally, we would like to thank our sponsors for your generous support and contribution to our first Community Job Fair. We value your support.

Activity

May God bless us all,

9:30 am – 10:00 am Attendee Registration 9:45 am – 10:15 am Setup Time 10:00 am – 10:30 am Mock Interviews 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Job Fair

Evelyn Antwi-Mensah, Executive Director African American Christian Foundation

THANK YOU TO OUR PROUD SPONSORS For Helping to Reduce Youth Joblessness!!

EMPLOYERS IN ATTENDANCE

Mission Oak Park Township assists:   

Senior citizens, youth and their families, people with disabilities, and financially struggling residents to fully participate in community life by providing information, supportive services, advocacy, and referrals; Partner agencies with funding for youth, mental health, and other human services; and All residents with property tax information, advocacy and services, voter registration, public transportation assistance, and community information Townships are small, local units of government independent of village governments. The Oak Park Township provides tax-supported human services and help fund local social service agencies. The Oak Park village government provides municipal services and promote and manage community and economic development. 

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We help young people with intervention and timely guidance.

We help seniors and persons with disabilities live independently

Hathaway Insurance Agency Inc.

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Arnetta Watkins (708) 540 - 3381 www.travelwithnetta.com

The Right Plan for you!

Call Vicki Yarbrough Today!

1031 S. 17th Ave, Maywood, IL 60153 Phone: 708.345.8183 Fax:708.345.8199

Human Resources Solutions

Staffing Services Congratulations to AACF on your Community Job Fair. CARA Staffing is proud to partner with you on this event.

The History of The Community Job Fair

A Community Job Fair 1st Edition, African American Christian Foundation