My pretty cool new volunteer venture

I hinted a couple weeks ago at something pretty exciting. It made the front page of the July 9 Arizona Republic newspaper:

What the story didn't fully explain:

The Great State of Arizona accepted a federal grant under the Workforce Investment Act to open additional Access Points for the state's Workforce Connection program. I am going to be an Access Point Trainer.

Starting next Sunday afternoon, one of the big churches in my 'hood is opening an Access Point office, so anyone from the community, not just church members (and not even restricted to those of the Christian faith) can stop in for resume reviews, interviewing tips, and help in accessing job boards and filling out applications. Or, if they just need someone to vent to or to pray with, I can do that as well.

The staff at the Workforce Connection sites are all extremely competent and compassionate, but are overwhelmed; Arizona is still facing a $2Billion budget shortfall (they missed their June 30 deadline) so is making cuts across the board, many times resulting in cuts to programs and services that are most in demand. Access Points bring the services into more neighborhoods, and simply helps to spread the services across more people.

The Trainer position is volunteer for now; the grant money goes towards the material. Because it is under a federal grant, it is portable, so if I end up moving to Seattle or Minneapolis or wherever my next job will take me, I could conceivably volunteer in a new state. And, it is another bullet point on my resume.

I have said several times that, while I have no pleasure in being unemployed, I do find the process of looking for work to be fascinating. And, I've long held to the saying, "Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." I've wanted to find opportunities to teach / coach / train / mentor, and this seems like a pretty obvious convergence of desires, interests, and current situation. I'm pretty excited about it.

And I get my picture in the paper to boot!