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Real People, Real Stories

Stories from Clevelanders, in their own voice.

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Featured Story

Walter Walker

Walter Walker

We believe everyone deserves a chance to advance. Walter shares how he turned his life around, and TE was there to help.

TE Testimonials

Your Story Has Power

Stories inform, inspire and activate people and organizations to make changes that can positively impact generations to come. Your story has the power to help Towards Employment advance its mission and help more Greater Clevelanders thrive.

Whether you have gone through one of our programs, hired one of our graduates, volunteered, served on our board, or donated to our cause, consider sharing your story with us.

How will TE share my story?

Towards Employment shares stories in a variety of ways to support our work, including: recruiting participants, employer partners, staff, board members, and volunteers; building awareness on important issues; driving policy changes; and raising funds to support more individuals and their families.

Towards Employment also abides by ethical storytelling standards. We will never use your story in any way without your explicit permission.

How Stories Impact Policy

We work with community members and policy partners to track and support legislation that reinforces our mission and ensures all Greater Clevelanders have a chance to thrive. We meet with elected officials and collaborate with organizations on city, county, state, and nation-wide initiatives.

A critical component of this work is collecting testimony from individuals who have been negatively impacted by policies. Please explore the prompts below to share your experience and a member of our team will follow up for more details. We will never use your story in any way without your explicit permission.

Lifting Fee-Related Drivers License Suspensions with SB37 & HB29

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On January 8, 2025, Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 29, legislation that will remove many of the financial barriers that lead to driver’s license suspensions. With the adoption of this policy, Ohio becomes the 25th state to move away from debt-related penalties.

Upon the effective date, license suspensions for failure to pay a court fine or fee will be removed both retroactively and automatically, without imposition of reinstatement fees. This will help hundreds of thousands of Ohioans get their licenses back and dramatically reduce future suspensions.

Learn more about TE's Policy & Advocacy

Step-Up Ceremonies

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Step-Up Ceremonies celebrate those finishing TE's career readiness workshop for the Community & Reentry and ACCESS to Manufacturing programs. All ceremonies are in-person and take place at the TE main office or MAGNET building respectively. Join us in celebrating TE graduates taking next steps onto their career pathway, or browse through our photo gallery of previous graduates!

Sign-Up for Upcoming Step-Up Ceremonies
View the Step-Up Photo Gallery
All Step-Up Photos

Press

Head to our press room to read more stories featured in the media, newsletters and elsewhere.

TE Community Events Calendar
TE Annual Events

Every year, Towards Employment hosts our Annual Event to help raise funds to connect people to careers!

2025 Grand Opening

2025 Grand Opening

We were thrilled to welcome you – along with 200 other guests - to the TE Grand Opening on May 14, 2025.

We hope that you felt the pride and passion we have in the work we do, our new and expanded space, and in the neighborhood we call home.

We invite you to watch the Towards Employment video premiered that night – Knocking Down Barriers, as well as explore other videos, and the photo gallery highlighting the evening.

Thank you for supporting Towards Employment!

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2024 Annual Event

2024 Annual Event

The Work & Reentry Experience at A Chance to Advance 2024 was an unforgettable, impactful performance - this musical and storytelling fusion featured a partnership with Dominick Farinacci and Towards Employment. 

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2023 Annual Event

2023 Annual Event

Toward Employment celebrated their 18th annual event, A Chance To Advance: Pay it Forward, on June 7th at the Agora Theatre!

The event highlighted the premiere of a unique, storytelling performance from TE Alumni in partnership with Dominick Farinacci of the Modern Warrior Experience. The Agora Theatre also hosted TE's Hometown Hero Award announcement, our live auction, a beautiful singing performance, and more.

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2022 Annual Event

2022 Annual Event

Toward Employment celebrated their 17th annual event, A Chance To Advance, on June 3rd at Music Box Supper Club! The event included a concert by a local CLE band: Blue Lunch, drawing of the Chance to Dream Raffle, and the Take A Chance on CLE silent auction. This was Toward Employment's second hybrid experience where guests attended both in person and virtually! Click the button below to view videos and photos from this event.

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2021 Annual Event

2021 Annual Event

Toward Employment celebrated their 16th annual event, A Chance To Advance, on September 10th 2021 at Music Box Supper Club! The event included a concert by a local CLE band: Blue Lunch, drawing of the Chance to Dream Raffle, and the Take A Chance on CLE silent auction. This was Toward Employment's first hybrid experience where guests attended both in person and virtually! Click the button below to view videos and photos from this event.

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2020 Annual Event

2020 Annual Event

2020 was a difficult year for many. COVID  cases spiked, businesses continued to shut their doors, and the unemployment rate kept climbing, but we KNEW we had to find a way to fundraise.

And then, an idea was born...TE's Got Talent, our first-ever virtual event! While we couldn't gather as a whole, people were able to join from the safety of their homes. Our donors, volunteers, staff, and friends really showed up to support Cleveland's workforce talent when it meant the most.

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2019 Annual Event

2019 Annual Event

Every year, Towards Employment helps over 2,000 people get in the game with a personal career pathway – a game plan to prepare for a job, get a job, keep a job, and advance into a career.

On Friday, September 20, at the Westin Cleveland Downtown, we highlighted Clevelanders who got in the game – those who found long-term employment with opportunities to advance.

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