The Center for Workforce Development has been able to help people in a wide range of locations and needs. It offers well rounded help in the forms of training, help with job placement, home items, and Brooklyn's Marketplace
To be a smaller non-profit and be able to help individuals from Washington, DC out to Front Royal, VA is quiet a feat!
I am not familiar with all of the activities of the Center for Workforce Development, but the Director, Arlene Ballou, has made a very big difference in Front Royal, VA. She opened "Brooklyn's" at 313 E. Main St. and it has become a focus for volunteer activity because she generously lends space for meetings and phone banks. The store draws customers to the far end of Main Street because of the mix of vendors of antiques and new and used items. There is space to walk around and enjoy what the store has to offer. It is neat and clean and tastefully arranged. But that is only a small part of what the Center does. As the name implies, it works with clients to train them and put them into jobs, a difficult task in this economy. Arlene Ballou is creative and innovative in developing programs with very little money. She works with other entities in the Front Royal business community to improve the local economy while still focusing on her charitable mission.
I am proud to be associated with Center for Workforce Development and the positive work Arlene Ballou and the staff does in serving our community. As a veteran of the workforce development community on the non-profit side and on the funding/city-side (NYC) I have had exposure to a broad spectrum of organizations serving those in need. There is a lot of dysfunction and looking out for oneself with funded and funding organizations. There is also a lack of vision.
Arlene Ballou and Center for Workforce Development does not suffer from either. Relentlessly mission focused to serve funders, participants and employers, CWD structures itself for high-standards. To serve effectively one must challenge oneself and those one is assisting. Results, accountability and transparency are built into the framework of every program which CWD implements.
I am very excited to see CWD grow and both effect change in participants lives and influence the non-profit community. I am very proud of the impact CWD is having in our community.
I have continued to work with CWD, and am so proud of the work now being done in Front Royal VA! Brooklyn's Marketplace is a wonderful business incubator and doing amazing work reaching out to the community!
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I love volunteering for CWD! It's great to know that all the work we are able to do in fundraising and setup is going to help others, especially in order to help young people help themselves! As a Career School Counselor, it is great to not only be working as a Counselor myself, but helping others provide direct service as well!
As a volunteer, I have the priviledge of experiencing first-hand the genuine caring and dedication of this organization to service to the community through its community out-reach programs. In this economy, many families NEED the kinds of resources provided by CWD, and I am proud to be a part of this mission!