CREATING JOBS and BUILDING CAREERS!

The National Association of Minority Contractors—Washington, DC Metropolitan Area Chapter (NAMC-WMAC) and the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters/Carpenter Contractor Trust (EAS/CCT) created a “Partnership” with the support of Prince George’s County At-Large Councilmember Calvin S. Hawkins, II to host the first-of-its-kind “2024 Jobs Not Guns Recruitment Fair” in Prince George’s County on June 13, 2024. The event will be held at the EAS Training Center, 8500 Pennsylvania Avenue, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. The overall goal is to provide guidance to residents to overcoming barriers to employment and careers with access to employment, training, apprenticeship, internship, and supportive service programs that can serve as a deterrent to gun violence in Prince George’s County, MD.

“JOBS NOT GUNS” is designed to assist in CREATING JOBS and BUILDING CAREERS! will feature employment opportunities (businesses, developers, general contractors, etc.) skill-training/apprenticeship training, workforce development, and support service programs for County residents. Exhibitors and attendees at the event are free to the public.

“A Road to Employment…Resources in the Neighborhood”

The East of the River Jobs Not Guns Youth Career Building Workshop has been rescheduled to be held on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Panorama Room, 1600 Morris Road, SE, Washington, DC 2020. The Workshop will provide valuable opportunities to DC Public Schools, DC Charter Schools, and youth participating in Out-of School and support service programs. The goal is to provide information on employment opportunities, on-the-job, skill training and support service programs available to assist youth to build a career and earn a living. Students are eligible to receive Community Service Hours to assist in satisfying their Career and Technical Education (CTE) hours required prior to graduation.

“2023 Citywide Jobs Not Guns Recruitment Fair”

The DC Business Gun Violence Prevention Coalition in partnership with the District of Columbia Army National Guard hosted the “2023 Citywide Jobs Not Recruitment Fair” on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm at the DC Armory, 2001 East Capital Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003. The Jobs Not Guns Initiative addresses gun violence in Washington, DC by assisting in CREATING JOBS and BUILDING CAREERS! for District residents. With a grant from AmeriCorp/ ServeDC, the partnership worked with the community to host the 10^th Jobs Not Guns Initiative that featured 85 exhibitors consisting of employers, public and private on-the-job training/apprenticeship programs and supportive services for District residents.

In addition to exhibitors, we offered a “NEW ADDITION” to the Recruitment Fair that included ON-FLOOR DEMONSTRATIONS that showcased a variety of employment and training opportunities to build careers. Over 300 persons attended the “Recruitment Fair,” including students from four (4) District of Columbia Public Schools. All Jobs Not Guns events are free and open to the public; youth attendees qualified for Community Service Credit Hours.

The DC Business Gun Violence Prevention Coalition hosted the Ward 2 Youth Career Building Workshop entitled: “A Roadmap to a Career” on September 15, 2023, at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. With a grant from AmeriCorps/ServeDC and a mini-grant from the Mayor’s Building Blocks DC, Office of Gun Violence Prevention the Coalition worked with the community to host the 9^th Jobs Not Guns Initiative event, the Youth Workshop that targeted high school juniors and seniors and District youth (ages 16-24) seeking career opportunities. 98 youth participated in the workshop. The focus provided guidance and assistance for overcoming barriers to targeted careers through training, apprenticeship, internship, and supportive service programs that can serve as a deterrent to youth violence in the District.  The workshop featured guest speakers and three panels supported by resource exhibitors.

The DC Business Gun Violence Coalition supported by DC Councilmember Janeese George-Lewis, Ward 4, hosted the “Ward 4 Jobs Not Guns Summit and Recruitment Fair” at Coolidge High School on Saturday, April 22, 2023, from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm.  With a grant from the DC Office of Gun Violence Prevention, the Coalition worked with the community to host the 8^th Jobs Not Guns Initiative the Recruitment Fair that featured one-on-one interviews for District residents with employers, trainers, and support service programs;  __ exhibitors participated and ___ were in attendance.  The purpose of “JOBS NOT GUNS” is to assist in CREATING JOBS! by providing an opportunity for businesses, developers, general contractors, etc. to provide jobs for District residents. Prior Jobs Not Guns Initiatives received great support, we believe that the business community working in partnership with job training/apprenticeship programs, vocational education providers, and supportive service providers can collectively build a strong workforce that is job-ready and will lead to a systematic decrease in gun violence. Exhibitors and attendees at all Jobs Not Guns events are free to the public. This event qualified for youth to receive community service hours.

The Coalition in collaboration with Councilmember Janeese Lewis George co-hosted a “Job Not Guns Business Icebreaker” on April 6, 2023, at Busboys and Poets Takoma for potential exhibitors, including local businesses, employers, training/apprenticeship programs, and support services to provide an overview of the upcoming “Jobs Not Guns Recruitment Fair” in Ward 4. The Coalition worked with the community to host the  7^th Jobs Not Guns Initiative, a reception that shared the purpose of the upcoming Recruitment Fair to confirm exhibitors and networking with other potential exhibitors.  The Icebreaker also shared marketing materials to bring to the event in order to maximize interaction with the one-on-one applicants seeking employment, training, and support services available for employment and training opportunities.