Fundraiser helps laid-off professionals

This year, the Barrington Career Center expects to help 1,000 people find jobs, including upper and middle management professionals laid off from their jobs.

Yet the center continues to strive for more name recognition in the Northwest suburbs, and higher visibility.

They took a giant step toward that heightened awareness on Friday, when employers, clients and supporters gathered in Arlington Park's International Room for the second annual "Winner's Circle Fundraiser."

"This is turning into a terrifically successful event for us," said Jim Zalesky of Kildeer, a former executive with The Options Clearing Corporation, now president of the center's board of directors.

Zalesky looked over the room, filled to capacity with 200 guests, including some of the Northwest suburbs' largest employers.

"We're a hidden jewel in the Northwest suburbs," Zalesky said. "And yet we'd like to raise our visibility with the business community, and our clients, who typically find themselves out of work for the first time in years."

Guests enjoyed a lavish luncheon buffet, before settling in for an afternoon of live horse racing, as seen from the tony confines of the fourth floor International Room.

Center officials said the fundraiser will help them meet the growing demands on the agency, whose numbers of clients mirror the rise in national unemployment figures.

They pointed to this year's first four months alone, when they drew twice as many jobseekers as during the same period last year.

At a recent Tuesday morning networking session, they drew 77 guests, up from 44 last winter, officials said. Job training sessions cover everything from interview and resume skills, to learning about the latest Internet tools.

"Clients pay just $50 for a job search," said Monica Keane, executive director, who formerly worked as an insurance executive with CNA. "That's far less than outplacement firms."

The Career Center started in 1994, and draws clients from Lake, Cook, McHenry and Kane counties each year. The volunteer-driven agency is located at 600 Hart Road, Suite 275 in the Barrington Corporate Center.