Berks County Community Foundation-2001 grant guidelines

Reading, PA, May 8 - Berks County Community Foundation announced today that nationally recognized employment expert Robert Carmona will be the speaker for the STRIVE Kickoff Luncheon to be held on Wednesday, May 10, 2000, at The Inn at Reading, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

STRIVE (Support Training Results in Valuable Employees) is an intensive training program that teaches job seeking skills and job readiness skills, with an emphasis on work place behavior, appearance and attitude. With the backing of the Community Foundation, the STRIVE Program will begin by late 2000 at the Reading-Berks Emergency Shelter.

The East Harlem Employment Service founded the STRIVE program in New York City in 1985. Since that time, the highly successful program has been duplicated in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia. STRIVE has twice been featured on the national news program "60 Minutes" and numerous other news documentary programs.

A charismatic speaker, Carmona has shaped the philosophy and direction of STRIVE since taking the helm in 1986. Like many STRIVE clients, Carmona himself had to overcome a number of early life disadvantages, including poverty and substance abuse. Despite these challenges, Carmona earned a degree in social work from the College of New Rochelle and received a masters degree from the prestigious Columbia University School of Social Work in 1982.

Under Carmona's leadership, STRIVE has grown from a three employee operation into a nationally recognized model for attitudinal training and job placement. STRIVE is a "boot-camp" style employment training program for the chronically unemployed, low-skilled individual and those previously thought to be unemployable. In a strict "no-excuses" atmosphere, only 25% of the trainees graduate, but of those that do, 90% remain employed three years after graduation.

The Community Foundation views the STRIVE program as a critical step in accomplishing one of their special initiatives of "building individual economic potential." To date, the Community Foundation commitment has funded the staff training and technical assistance necessary to kickoff the STRIVE program this year.

Carmona will be available for media interviews from 11:00 to 11:30 a.m. The STRIVE Kickoff Luncheon is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. with Carmona's address immediately following lunch.

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