Partnership with UN Foundation Brings New Opportunities to Women at Calvary
We were approached by the UN Foundation’s DC office about incorporating Calvary into their community engagement activities leading up to International Women’s Day (March 8) and gladly accepted their offer. Over the course of two days in February, volunteers from the Foundation led a job search bootcamp on site at Calvary, and facilitated a luncheon and visit to the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture.
We were especially honored that UN Foundation President and CEO, Kathy Calvin, joined women at Calvary for the job search bootcamp and lent her expertise to women at Calvary who are working to build stronger futures for themselves and their families.
The job search bootcamp began with a panel discussion, then broke into smaller workshop groups that covered topics like Managing Your Social Media Presence, What a Boss Wants to See in a New Employee, and Mock Interviews. Bootcamps like this one are especially valuable to Calvary because they enhance our existing job development program (Step Up DC), with external experts, and volunteers who can relate their own experiences to women at Calvary, which serves to motivate women as they embark on their own job searches. Additionally, we opened the bootcamp to all women at Calvary (not just those currently seeking employment) since job searching is a life-long skill.
The UN Foundation also invited women at Calvary for lunch at their office before accompanying them to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Foundation provided the transportation for women to get to their office, then to the museum together.
Women at Calvary enjoyed lunch at the UN Foundation, and shared their stories of how they found themselves at Calvary. The lunch also helped to form meaningful relationships between UNF volunteers and women at Calvary, so their trip to the museum became a trip with friends. While at the museum, women were able to link up with UNF volunteers in small groups based on which section of the museum she was interested in.
A huge thank you to our friends at the UN Foundation for including Calvary in their International Women’s Day community engagement efforts.