Monday, September 6, 2010

Birmingham area churches help jobless find work, new hope


From Alabama-

When times are tough, many folks turn to the church for help and comfort. These days, many Birmingham area churches are providing something else -- help with job searches.

With the seven-county metro area in the grip of a punishing recession that sent its unemployment rate surging to a quarter-century high of 11 percent earlier this year, churches are stepping up efforts to help job seekers, establishing career ministries and hosting job fairs.

More than a dozen churches with career ministries are listed on the website of Career Assistance Network-Birmingham, founded last year by Gerriann Fagan, a human resources consultant; Gayle Lantz, a leadership consultant; and Lou Thibodeaux, archdeacon of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama.

Many of those ministries have emerged over the last year, said Mike Coffey, who founded what is considered the pioneering career assistance ministry at Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church 25 years ago.

More here-

http://blog.al.com/businessnews/2010/09/birmingham_area_churches_help.html

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