Community Resources Fair at Harper
Since the recession began, Diane Carter-Zubko has manned the front lines of a grim economic downturn. From her post in Arlington Heights' Illinois workNet office, the Harper College Workforce Career coordinator has watched suburban residents wait daily in long, winding lines to apply for unemployment benefits. Hundreds also have walked through the door of her office - a Harper satellite providing information on resume-building and interview techniques, help enrolling in courses for extra job training or college credit, and tips on paying for college or securing scholarships.
This month, she can suggest another helping hand: a Northwest Suburbs Community Resources Fair showcasing a host of local services and resources available to local residents struggling amid the economic crisis. The fair, running from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday, May 20, includes more than 50 exhibitors from human service agencies, addressing areas like education, food, housing, credit, utility assistance, employment and health and nutrition.
Spearheaded by Mohammed Faheem of the Arlington Heights workNet Center, the fair also will offer information on volunteer opportunities for those wishing to lend a hand themselves.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to show local residents, particularly those who are unemployed, all the resources that are here for them when they need help," Carter-Zubko says. "These are people who are low on hope and low on options, and many of them never have been down this road before. We want to let them know we're all there for them."
The fair is hosted by Harper in conjunction with Illinois workNet, the Workforce Board of Northern Cook County, the villages of Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg Township District Library and the Hoffman Estates Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It will be held in the Wojcik Conference Center on Harper's campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. The fair is free and open to all; parking, in Lot 13, also is free. For more, call (847) 437-9425 or e-mail mfaheem@worknetncc.com.