WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED IN 2021 — THANKS TO YOU |
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Now that we have finished another year of service to the community, The Zan Wesley Holmes Jr. Community Outreach Center Board and Staff say thanks to our clients, donors and partners who have supported us throughout 2021. We appreciate your continued interest and participation in our programs and services.
Our mission is to “help create self-sustaining pathways out of poverty for young people and families in Dallas through education and job placement.”
The Center provides an ever-growing variety of educational and job training sessions, free of charge, which are needed to make possible for young people and families in Dallas to chart a pathway out of poverty by gaining employment and becoming self-sufficient.
Our focus is on Entrepreneurship, Workforce Pathways Training and Asset Building.
Here are some of the things we accomplished in 2021:
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
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Our very popular Lunch & Learn sessions made it possible for small businesses and nonprofits to learn about various business components that can help improve their day-to-day operations at no cost to them. We hosted about 288 individuals at 20+ sessions, virtually and in person. (We held monthly sessions virtually until we safely returned to in-person meeting at Frazier House in September.) We offered free classes in a wide array of topics from grant writing to marketing basics, from how to grow your small business to how to gain access to capital. And, so much more. You can view many of our sessions on our YouTube channel. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHaBN1A-lbaQw9VoT8wDYoA
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We presented our 4th Annual Juneteenth Economic Forum to the community with speakers providing information on topics such as international living, group economics, creating apps for global use, business opportunities within a sharing economy and preparing for the workplace. 89 individuals participated in these 6 virtual sessions.
WORKFORCE PATHWAYS
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The 8-week long Low Voltage Fiber Optics class kicked off November 15 with eight students who are learning to install telecommunication services such as internet, TVs, and telephones. Trainees have access to job placement services, job readiness training, financial coaching, and case management services.
- We partnered with several businesses in hosting job fairs which have netted jobs for ZWHJCOC clients at FedEx, Smokey John’s Restaurant and Hudson Airport Retailer. Our most recent partnership is with the Dallas ISD Tutoring Department to help find tutors for district students. We interviewed about 20 individuals placing 10 for this semester.
- Jackson Hewitt Tax Services partnered with ZWHJCOC to present tax preparation courses. There are currently 11 individuals participating in the program working toward income tax certification.
ASSET BUILDING
- We assisted 321 individuals in our financial literacy classes (Cash Flow, Collateral & Leverage, and Increments of Success) in learning about the economy and financial assets to help build wealth including sessions on cryptocurrencies, forex trading, stock and real estate investing.
- We kicked off our inaugural Financial Wellness Village program, sponsored by the Texas Women’s Foundation, which focuses on women and teaches participants to set financial goals, create realistic plans of action to help them meet those goals, create balance sheets, savings plans, monthly budgets and more on the way to learning how to accumulate wealth.
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PLANS FOR 2022 ARE UNDERWAY |
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We will kick off 2022 educational sessions with topics Helping Small Business Owners Create a Business Plan and You Are Your Best Marketer. And, in February “Scaling Your Business Model Forward” will be the lead topic for the month.
Also, in 2022, the ZWHJCOC and The Muse Family Foundation are partnering for the Fair Park Small and Emerging Business 12-week small business program. The objective of the small business technical assistance program is to work with businesses that have great concepts but need technical support to scale and sustain their business models. Applications for this program will open January 4. Go to www.zwhjcoc.org and Click on Events > Classes. The selected businesses must commit to classroom instruction, case management and be willing to have their businesses operate within the 75210 and 75215 zip codes.
Please plan to join us during the year to engage in the powerful programs we have planned for you. You can learn more about topics and dates by following us on Facebook, Instagram or by visiting our website at www.zwhjcoc.org.
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SIMMONS BANK DONATES FUNDS FOR FINANCIAL WELLNESS TRAINING |
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Simmons Bank has donated $2500 to the ZWHJCOC to be used for financial wellness training. And kudos to our Executive Director Frances Smith-Dean who has been named to The Simmons Bank Community Advisory Council. Simmons Bank is a bank with operations in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. It is the primary subsidiary of Simmons First National Corporation, a bank holding company. |
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ZWHJCOC's mission is to help create self-sustaining pathways out of poverty for young people and families in Dallas through education and job placement. |
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