Community job fair to feature 22 local companies that are hiring

The organizers of this weekend’s community job fair at Good Shepherd Catholic Church — to be held Saturday, April 28 from 9 a.m. to noon— are uncertain of how public turnout will be for their first-ever event, but they do know that there will be plenty of potential employers and service providers on hand offering job opportunities and various forms of assistance for families from the Route 1 corridor.

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According to Margot Chavez, program coordinator at Catholic Charities of Arlington — which is co-sponsoring the event with Good Shepherd, UCM’s Opportunity Neighborhood Mount Vernon and Bridges to Independence — hiring managers and employees from 22 companies will be at the event. The employers cover a range of industries — banking, retail, moving companies and hospitality, just to name a few — and will have both full-time and part-time, entry-level and managerial positions available.

Chavez said that one of the unique things about the job fair is the variety of community programs and resources that will be on hand to support individuals and families during and after their job search. Service providers will include representatives from Computer CORE (computer training and job skills); Hogar Immigrant Services (ESOL/education services); Good Shepherd Housing (housing services); Head Start of Fairfax County (early childhood education); the Fairfax County Health Department (health services); the Catholic Charities of Diocese of Arlington Christ House Thrift Shop (which will display/provide cost-free business clothing for interviews); Shelters to Shutters (housing services); Opportunity Neighborhood Mount Vernon (community engagement); Year Up (job training); and voter registration.

The concept of a community job fair was first conceived during a monthly meeting last fall between Catholic Charities and Good Shepherd Catholic Church, located at 8710 Mount Vernon Highway (see map). Susan Grunder, director of social ministry at the church, mentioned wanting to hold a job fair for the many families in the Mount Vernon area who are unemployed or underemployed, occasionally working several minimum-wage jobs yet barely able to make ends meet. According to Fairfax County data from 2016, of the 8,868 people living in poverty in the Mount Vernon area, the unemployment rate is 6.5 percent — well above the 2.4 percent overall unemployment rate in Fairfax County.

The event slowly started coming together — with Bridges to Independence providing some much-needed expertise and guidance on job fair organization — and several Fairfax County agencies helping market it. If successful, organizers may make the event a yearly affair.

Ultimately the goal of the job fair is to enable more Richmond Highway corridor residents to obtain secure jobs with benefits, said Chavez.

“At the end of the day, we’re trying to help them improve their situation,” she said.

Route 1 area residents are encouraged to dress business casual and bring their resume and smile to the event. On-site child care and refreshments will be available.