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On November 7th, over 200 students, parents, educators and mentors participated in the kick-off of our Urban High School Mentoring Initiative. Participants are still buzzing with excitement and we are pleased to share with you words and pictures from this seminal event.
We are also pleased to announce that a great pool of companies have applied to be on our Honor Roll. We are busily reviewing the applications and are, as always, struck by the innovative approaches to caring employed by small and large companies.
Finally, you are receiving this Newsletter because you believe in the mission of the Center for Companies That Care. Please consider us in your year-end giving. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation.
Have a peaceful and meaningful Thanksgiving.
Marci |
Center for Companies That Care Urban High School Mentoring Initiative on the Move: Highlights of our Kick-Off Event
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On November 7th, students, parents, educators and mentors met at the University of Chicago to kick off this exciting initiative.
For those of you not familiar with this new endeavor, 15 companies have agreed to mentor students from Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men, in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, and University of Chicago Charter School - Woodlawn Campus, in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood. In addition, 8 companies have chosen to sponsor the students. The goal of the initiative is to help ensure that disadvantaged high school students graduate from high school, and get TO, and THROUGH, college.
Click here to read press releases regarding the event.
The inaugural year mentors are:
ChapterHouse, LLC
Convergint Technologies LLC
Curcio Webb, LLC
Fertile Ground Foundation
Grant Thornton LLP
KPMG LLP
McDermott, Will and Emery
NeigerDesignInc.
Office Depot, Inc.
Opto Technology, Inc.
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Sysmex Corporation
The Care of Trees
University HealthSystem Consortium
Watson Wyatt Worldwide
Sponsoring organizations are:
Baxter Healthcare Corporation
Convergint Technologies LLC
Enterprise Fleet Management
Friedler Construction
Grant Thornton LLP
Hewitt Associates
The Care of Trees
Sysmex Corporation
Here are some of the comments we received following the event:
"The kids last night make me cry. The project is so exciting - I feel like I have found something I will really enjoy committing time to. We are assigned a 14-year old girl who is very bright. Met her mother who was very supportive of the project. The boys from the Urban Academy were unreal! Very nice group of kids. I hope the project is so successful that CTC [Center for Companies That Care] can take it to other cities."
"The event was milestone and magic at the same time. Everyone knew it was the start of something very special in the lives of both the students and the mentors. Only time will tell what that something was, but the optimism, hope and enthusiasm in the room made it a very unique and fulfilling experience already."
"The kick-off event was fantastic. It was well-organized and a great way to meet the students and their parents. We are all very excited to get to know our student over the next four years and are equally excited to make an impact in his life and help navigate him through his high school years. I was talking with the Team about how neat it would be to attend his college graduation."
"I was very impressed with the program and the positive response from our company and the community. Creating a brand name and logo was a terrific way to get the teams working together and the ideas were very impressive. I was also able to get to know two students and a mother who are very committed to graduating from college. Both schools have excellent leaders and role models for the children to look up to. We are very excited about having the opportunity to make a difference."
Click here for additional information on this very exciting program. Click here to hear the students themselves talk about why this is important to their future.
Please contact Marci Koblenz for additional information and/or to become a sponsor. |
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UPCOMING EVENT: VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB |
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December 11, 12-1pm Central Time
Mass Career Customization: Aligning the Workplace with Today's Nontraditional Workforce by Cathleen Benko and Anne Weisburg
We are excited that co-author Anne Weisburg will be joining us on the call.
(from flap) The long-predicted talent gap is upon us. While many of today's
business leaders typify the traditional workforce, the vast majority of
tomorrow's leaders do not. Knowledge professionals, who are in
ever-decreasing supply and ever-increasing demand, will drive business
growth in the early twenty-first century. And these are the same
workers who are irreversibly blurring the relationship between work and
life and redefining what it means to build a career. Now, even the baby
boomers nearing retirement want options beyond the all-or-nothing
approach of the corporate ladder.
Mass Career Customization is a wake up call to corporate
America and a guidebook for business leaders. Centered on the powerful
insight that today's career is no longer a straight climb up the
corporate ladder, but rather a combination journey of climbs, lateral
moves, and planned descents, Mass Career Customization provides
a refreshing approach to attracting talent and strengthening leadership
pipelines while providing more varied and well-balanced career journeys. COST:
Free - members of Community of Caring (includes employees of Honor Roll organizations and Education Initiative student mentors and sponsors.)
$25 - non-members
Click here to register for the December 11th Virtual Book Club if you are not a member. |
| Honor Roll Networking Pays Dividends |
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 Quarterly Honor Roll Teleconferences
Collaboration Action Recognition Education
Collaborating and Educating---These are two of the core values of the Center for Companies That Care. One of the benefits of being on the Honor Roll is participating in quarterly teleconferences with representatives from other Honor Roll companies. Topics are selected by the Honor Roll Network Planning Committee, a volunteer group of Honor Roll members. The topic of the last teleconference was Characteristic 6: "Leadership Development: Growing the Next Generation of Leaders." Representatives from Levy Restaurants and Enterprise Fleet Management, who excel at Characteristic 6, shared what they are doing, followed by questions from participants from other Honor Roll companies. This is what participants had to say:
"The leadership development initiatives from both Levy and Enterprise are great and the discussion both speakers provided regarding the tools used for leadership development at their organizations was valuable."
"[It was valuable to hear] examples of leadership programs and approaches my peer companies use in their everyday operations."
"[It was valuable to hear] the importance of integrating coaching and development conversations with staff as a core responsibility for all managers and supervisors."
If you are an employee of an Honor Roll organization, please join the next call on Wednesday, January 24th at 1:45pm CST. If there is a topic you would like to have a discussion on, please let us know.
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CAREDAYS 2008
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In 2008, CAREDAYS will celebrate the Caregivers in our midst. CAREDAYS will kick off on Companies That Care Day, March 20, 2008. We will provide thoughts on how to celebrate those people in our workplaces that spend much of their time outside of work helping those in need.
We encourage you to block the March 20th as a day for celebration. Stay tuned for more information. |
| Do you support Center for Companies That Care's mission that all companies are companies that care? If so, read on! |
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 We encourage you to join the Community of Caring. Becoming a member of the Community of Caring not only entitles you to many benefits, but, more importantly, by becoming a member you declare your interest in, and commitment to, making our world a better place to live. The investment is minimal, your vote for caring will be HUGE! Please join our Honor Roll Companies as members of the Community.
Community of Caring Benefits
Participate in collaborative community building initiatives with other members
Attend Center for Companies That Care educational programs (Best Practices Road Shows, Bi-Annual Symposiums, Stepping Stones Seminars, etc.) for a discounted registration fee
Participate in mentoring programs for a discount
Select topics for and attend 1st Monday virtual lunch 'n learns -- free
Participate in the Virtual Book Club -- free
Purchase tools (surveys, starter kits, etc.) at a discount
Receive advance notice of all educational and community building programs with limited participation
Submit nominations (including self-nominations) for Center for Companies That Care committees and Board of Directors
Receive a CARE bumper sticker and a Community of Caring seal for your website and collateral materials
Participate in the Community of Caring listserv and consult/collaborate with other Community of Caring members
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| We Want Your Input |
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We want to hear what's happening with our 2007 Honor Roll. If you have photos or a brief pieces of news about how your organization demonstrates the 10 Characteristics, please forward them to: marcikoblenz@companies-that-care.org |
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