POP RECOGNIZES PARTNERS AND PARTICIPANTS
photo by Malcolm Pinckney
On the evening of Tuesday, June 28, staff from the Parks Opportunity Program (POP) and their business partners gathered in the Arsenal Gallery to celebrate the 2005 Parks Opportunity Program Company Recognition Awards. This first-time event was designed to recognize those companies who make valuable contributions to the success of the POP program by offering internships and training programs to Job Training Participants (JTPs) or by hiring POP graduates to full-time permanent positions.
Now in its 11th year, POP is the nation’s largest transitional employment program. More than 3,000 trainees work in New York City’s parks, playgrounds, and recreation centers, providing a valuable service to the city. Participants learn transferable skills in maintenance, security, horticulture, recreation management, administrative service, and customer service. During the six-month program, JTPs also receive employment services and career counseling to prepare them for work in the private sector.
Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Deputy Commissioner Robert Garafola, and Assistant Commissioner Edward Lewis all spoke at the awards, noting the importance of partnerships with the private sector in the continued success of the POP program. Representatives from many of New York City’s top companies were also at the event as a chance to find out more about the POP program. Businesses who hire from the POP program not only receive highly trained and screened candidates, but are also eligible for tax credits.
Also present at the event were Executive Deputy Commissioner of the Family Independence Administration Seth Diamond, Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Employment Services Ellen Howard-Cooper, and Denise Tolbert, Executive Director of Employment Contractors Services from the Human Resources Administration (HRA). POP staffed noted that HRA’s support has also been invaluable in ensuring the continued success of the program.
Jill Weber, Chief of the POP program, presented awards to Progressive Home Health Services, Inc., Alliance for Health, North Shore Hospital, and the New York City Business Solutions Hiring Center for hiring the most POP graduates last year.
Security firm John C. Mandel received a special award. In the last two years, the company has hired 109 POP graduates, and in the last year appointed 83 people from the POP program to security positions around the city. A Newcomer Award was presented to Compass Group, a catering and food-service organization that began a partnership with the POP program in May 2005, and has already offered training and employment to JTPs.
LaGuardia Community College was recognized as an educational partner, for offering high quality job-specific training and education to JTPs. As a part of this new relationship, 209 JTPs received training from LaGuardia in the areas of food service, customer service, security, and GED.
Over the last several years, POP staff have worked hard to expand internship opportunities. Internships are a priority for POP because they offer trainees direct employment experience, improve long-term retention rates, and create a smooth transition to employment for both the employee and the company. The ceremony recognized the Central Park Conservancy, Baruch College, and FedEx Kinkos for their outstanding internship programs. All three organizations also offered full-time jobs to graduates who had completed internships.
The evening ended with testimonials from POP alumni Toni Jones and Marlene Richardson. Toni, who now works at SUNY Downstate as a medical file secretary, and is working to increase her training in the medical field, described POP as "an escalator that takes you to another level" because "at Parks I had so many people pulling for me." In a particularly moving moment, Toni also revealed that behind her new work ID she still carries her Parks ID as a reminder of the doors that POP opened up for her, and as a motivator to make the most of the opportunities she received through the program.
For staff, the event was a chance to reflect on the success of the POP program at the end of the financial year. Over the last year, the program placed 1,125 people full-time permanent employment. This represents a 20 percent increase in the number of private placements from last year and a 50 percent increase over the last two years.
-written by Ceridwen Cherry
QUOTATION FOR THE DAY
"Who, being loved, is poor?"
Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900)