by Robert Wiener
NJJN Staff Writer

January 15, 2009

They sat at four conference tables arranged in a square, phoning fellow members of their synagogues in a grassroots attack on the financial crisis.

“I’m calling to obtain job opportunities or company contact names to help our MetroWest fellow congregants return to work,” they said hundreds of times at the annual Jobathon sponsored by Jewish Vocational Service of MetroWest, a partner agency of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest.

“We are making calls to find jobs in the community that may not be available by ads in the paper or on websites,” said Caren Ford, assistant executive director of program services at the JVS. “Our people are calling their peers in their synagogues and elsewhere in the community to see if they know of any jobs.”

The people on the phones at the Aidekman Jewish Community Campus in Whippany were volunteers from across Metro-West. Many represented congregations that are members of a coalition supporting the JVS’ Jewish Employment Network, an ongoing effort to locate and disseminate information on employment openings.

Any available jobs discovered as a result of the phone outreach — or through other JEN efforts — are posted on the JVS website www.mwjobs.org.

Ford and Linda Popick, who coordinates the website and JVS community outreach, supervised the phone banks Sunday at the campus’ Gebroe and Hammer Conference Center.

To further the coalition’s objections, religious leaders at its 45 member congregations “appointed representatives who receive our flyers and make sure the jobs are published in their synagogues’ bulletins,” Popick said. “They attend meetings and help publish our website.”

In the five years since the start of the effort, the JVS has posted 2,500 openings and helped some 1,200 community members make contacts and receive counseling at their office in East Orange, all free of charge.

The service — which includes lessons in writing resumes, preparing for interviews, sharpening computer skills, and changing careers — is open to all Jewish residents of MetroWest.

While the phonathon was under way on Jan. 11, Popick said she was competing with an icy morning and a televised Giants football game in the afternoon, as well as financial obstacles, especially among older adults.

“Last year, 16 percent of our people were over 65. This year it is 35-40 percent in the past few months who are looking for work. Those who are older are the hardest hit,” she said.

‘Giving back’

But some of the volunteers said they managed to feel optimistic, one because she herself represents a JVS success story.

When she was unemployed, Ann Koermer, a former JVS client from Basking Ridge, “just kept going and JVS supported me with my networking and my resume and my confidence. And lo and behold, I kept chipping away and located a position as a business analyst. I am here to support JVS and give back what they gave to me.”

Volunteer Sam Fredman, an information technology expert, was without a job for seven months after being employed by a large bank. Fellow members of Oheb Shalom Congregation in his hometown of South Orange referred him to JVS. He is now working again in the field, thanks to an assist from the agency.

“They registered my profile and circulated my information,” he said. “I feel this activity is very valuable to the unemployed community.”

Henry Glickman of Short Hills said he contacted JVS when he became unemployed “a few years ago. I didn’t find my job through JVS, but I did want to help out other people. It’s a payback thing. I want to help some people who really don’t know where to turn.”

Howard Bruch of North Caldwell is a congregant of Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex in Caldwell who came “to help out the MetroWest community members who are looking for jobs. We want to find employers who have a need for workers and help people who need a job.”

In less than a year, Mike Lowenthal of West Orange has felt that need — twice. He lost his job as a recruiter in the human resources department of a large investment bank, found another position, and just five weeks later was laid off last October in a downsizing move. “It’s a double blow,” said the Agudath Israel member, “but it’s all about attitude. Job search is all about staying positive. If you allow the situation to get to you, when you walk into a job interview or when you are networking, people read that.”

Lauren Markon, who lives in Livingston, is an Agudath Israel liaison to the JVS. Beyond her experience as a volunteer for the third consecutive year, Markon has professional expertise as a career counselor at Morris County Community College’s Women’s Center. And she too has an optimistic outlook. “I just got two people jobs in the past month. There are jobs to be found if you are out there and you’re aggressive,” she said.

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Sidebar - A ‘scary picture’

Although the latest unemployment figures for New Jersey will not be released until Jan. 21, the rate in New Jersey was 6.1 percent in November. Leonard Schneider is troubled, predicting that that number is sure to go up.

The executive director of the Jewish Vocational Service of MetroWest said the numbers paint a “scary picture.”

Nationally, unemployment reached 7.2 percent in December, with 2.6 million people cut from the labor force in 2008. “That is the highest number in 45 years,” he noted.

The magnitude of the crisis is reflected by JVS’ responses. At the Jan. 11 Jobathon, 30 MetroWest-area synagogues and numerous community organizations were represented, with 76 congregation liaisons and/or volunteers making calls throughout the day, both record numbers.

From that day alone, 107 job leads and/or company contacts were identified, with more coming into the JVS offices as a result of responses to voice messages left by the volunteers.

In addition to finding potential job openings, the callers reached job seekers, who were then referred to JVS for assistance.

Also reflecting the enormity of the situation is the fact that, according to Schneider, the JVS caseload increased by 31 people in the month of December, typically a slow month, for a total of 199. And requests from unemployed and underemployed individuals (the “middle-income unemployed,” those previously earning between $40,000 and $150,000) increased by more than 40 percent in the five months ending with December.

“Thankfully,” wrote Schneider in an e-mail to NJJN, “United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ supplemental service and fund-raising initiative, MetroWest HELPS, has provided additional funding for us to increase our staff.”

In addition, he said, JVS received funding from the Grotta Fund for Senior Care to provide specialized job placement assistance to people age 65 and over seeking employment. JVS “has seen a 115 percent increase in requests for job placement assistance from people age 55 and over in the past four months compared to a year ago,” Schneider said. These are people, often retirees, “reeling from the loss of planned pension and 401(k) income associated with the financial crisis.”

According to Schneider, the number of people over age 55 on the JVS caseload, representing 47 percent, more than doubled compared to last year. 

An article resulting from an interview with Schneider for a Jan. 2 Good Morning America segment highlighted JVS’ Caregiving Companions program (personal care aides providing nonmedical assistance to the frail elderly and disabled in their homes) and its customized training and job placement initiative to prepare bus drivers for Coach USA.

— ROBERT WIENER

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