The Better Together Community Job Fair is returning to Gardner at the end of the week to connect local businesses with Gardner-area job seekers.
Grace Baptist Church, at 650 E. Madison St., has partnered with the nonprofit again to host 24 employers and six community resource partners across various industries on-site for full- and part-time positions, day and night shifts, and second chance or fair chance employment opportunities from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 7.
The program’s representatives said they partner their community job fair with local churches because it is the best way to provide resources to facilitate stronger connections and more hires. Representatives also said they have helped more than 40,000 applicants across 24 states, and so far this year more than 2,600 interviews or initial jobs have been offered.
Supportive services, including free one-on-one job coaching sessions, resume reviews, Spanish and American Sign Language interpreters, and job coaches will be available on site.
Additionally, local resource partners Celebrate Recovery, Connections to Success and Dress for Success Kansas City, Per Scholas, Step Up adult diploma program, The Hope Market and Women’s Employment Network will also be present at the fair.
Job seekers and hiring employers can register at BetterTogetherUS.org/Grace-Gardner or by texting “JOBS’ to 844-987-3949.
Participating employers include:
- All City Management Services-The Crossing Guard Co.
- AutoZone
- Azria Health Olathe
- Brook + Whittle
- Cosentino’s Price Chopper
- Examinetics
- FedEx
- First Student
- Four Seasons Home Products
- Gardner Edgerton School District
- Hy-Vee Corporation
- Johnson County Community College
- Johnson County Park and Recreation District
- Kids TLC
- Lennox
- Meadowbrook Rehabilitation Hospital
- Olathe Public Schools
- Paydayz Staffing
- Preferred Asphalt and Concrete
- Rajmahal Indian Restaurant
- Spring Hill School District
- Staffmark
- Stouse
- The University of Kansas Health System
Better Together is a privately funded nonprofit organization of volunteers helping parents going through a hard time to keep their kids out of foster care, find work and have the tools and support system to thrive, according to the nonprofit’s website.
Brandon Champagne, Grace Baptist Church worship and community impact pastor, as well as the community job fair coordinator, said the job fair is more than just a hiring event.
“Everyone needs to know they can take a step forward in their life,” Champagne said “Sometimes we just need a little help from others. It is an opportunity to try something new and to get a fresh start.”
Champagne said Grace Baptist Church hosts the job fair because they believe they are “ordinary people changed by Christ to change the world.”
“Sometimes something as simple as finding a good job can make a huge impact in the future of an individual or family,” Champagne said. “We love that people who attend our job fairs leave knowing they are valued and loved, and this can lead to deeper connections to meet even more needs than their need for employment.”
Gardner has been through “quite a year” together, Champagne said noting the Aspen Place Apartments disaster in May.
“(It) became a uniting of people and resources like we have never seen in our city,” Champagne said. “People want to make a difference.”
Champagne said Gardner’s rapid growth in recent years has led to employment needs growing exponentially.
“Our businesses are looking for the right people to make them healthy and strong companies,” Champagne said. “Our citizens are looking for the right employers who will make their families more secure and stable financially and socially.”
Champagne said that when a person receives a job offer or second interview at the job fair, they ring the “celebration bell” with the new employer.
“This is a culture of celebration, and the entire room stops to celebrate with them,” Champagne said.
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