Alumni Advancement Collective – Towards Employment

Learn, Grow,

Becoming an Alumni means more than new skills and training.
Gain access to amazing professional and career growth opportunities.

Become a Member

Upcoming Events

Alumni Advancement Collective is:

Give Power to Your Voice

In the Alumni Advancement Collective you will have opportunities to further engage your community through policy & advocacy.

First – vote! Then, explore how your voice enriches our community. Find out about local policy priorities and match your voice to the things you want to change. Strengthen your communication skills and build your own toolbox for effective storytelling.

Advocacy Resources

Connect with the Community

Support your neighborhood.

Volunteer for a service-based organization – see how these organizations provide no cost resources and support for the betterment of our community.

Volunteer with TE

Community Event Calendar

Alumni Event Photo Gallery

All

Alumni Events
TE Block Party 2024
Family Fun Day 2023
Alumni at the 2023 Annual Event
Work & Reentry Experience 2023
Back-2-School 2022

Learn about Leadership

The Alumni Advancement Collective offers access to many different leadership opportunities to help you advance in your career, and strengthen your voice in the community. Discover what service on a board, advisory council, or committee means. Strong leadership skills can help you be a catalyst of change that benefits the local community and beyond.

TE Voices of Involved Parents (V.I.P.) Café

TE V.I.P. Café

Cafés are physically and emotionally safe spaces where people talk and listen to each other on topics that matter to them, such as the challenges and victories of raising a family, navigating landscapes of inequality, enhancing well-being, or being involved in the recovery process of someone they love.

The V.IP. Café is:

A platform for parents to use their voice, be heard and hear from other parents
A community of other active parents
A place to receive support for challenges around parenting and to give support to others
Helping TE and your community better help and support the needs and views of parents

Topics you can expect to see in a V.I.P. Café:

Reentry: Rekindling a relationship with your children
Co-parenting and blended families
Grandparents and other caregivers
Dealing with grief
Communicating with your children
Family game night
Nutrition and meal time
Girl dads and boy moms

Interested and want to stay updated, or have ideas for topics? Complete our interest form below.

TE V.I.P. Café Interest Form

Parent Advisory Council

TE Parent Advisory Council

Alumni Advancement Collective offers the opportunity to join the TE Parent Advisory Board. Through the Parent Advisory Council, alumni may participate in alumni-led discussions and leadership activities such as meeting with TE board members and participating in council meetings.

Interested in joining? Contact Greg Reaves at greaves@towardsemployment.org

Neighborhood Leadership Institute

From teaching neighborhood residents through their flagship, Neighborhood Leadership Cleveland, to their mentoring of young people through our True2U partnership, to training neighborhood women on how to help others to keep their babies safe through year one, among others, NLI remains dedicated to making Greater Cleveland more inclusive and successful at serving its own by building leaders from the ground up.

Learn More about NLI Programs

Towards Employment Young Professionals (TEYP)

Calling all Young Professionals!

Looking for a groovy networking and development opportunity? Towards Employment Young Professionals (TEYP) is currently recruiting!

TEYP helps you to expand your professional network and connect with other young professionals in your community. Members actively participate in exciting ways of building community, networking, fundraising, and volunteer activities. They also spread awareness and understanding of TE’s mission in the community and build support in our neighborhoods.

Discover what serving on an associate board can teach you and help to give voice to your community.

Interested in joining the fun?

Complete the TEYP interest form or reach out directly to TEYP Coordinator, Addie Gall-Hunter at agall-hunter@towardsemployment.org.

Complete the TEYP Interest Form

TowardsEmployment_WorkAdvance2.0_2021_030

Professional Advancement

Research and find membership and involvement with a professional network – an organization that will support your continual professional development and achievement of career goals.

Take a look at TE's impact on advancement in 2023.

$16.71/hr

Average starting wage for TE participants, $6.61 above OH minimum wage.

176 Advanced

on the job with an average wage increase of over $2/hr.

$18.17/hr

Average advanced wage.

Sharing Your Voice with TE

Tell your story.

Your story matters. The Alumni Advancement Collective will help you learn to strengthen your written and verbal communication skills to elevate your voice.

LaToria Davis

LaToria Davis

"Everybody has a story to tell."

Richard Jackson

Richard Jackson

"I feel like without Towards Employment I would not be on the path that I’m on. I love my job."

Linda Butts

Linda Butts

"I am living proof that you can come from nothing and be something."

Tiara Colbert

Tiara Colbert

"Towards Employment helps to build confidence. They help remind people they’re not alone, that this is a process."

Stay Engaged

Community Events Calendar

Annual Events

Every year, Towards Employment hosts our Annual Event! 20-30 TE Alumni enjoy participating in TE's Annual Event as guests, storytellers, and/or VIPs. Learn more about each year's annual event below.

Interested in participating in this year's annual event? Contact Greg Reaves at greaves@towardsemployment.org

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.

Learn More

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.

Learn More

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.

Learn More

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.

Learn More

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.

Learn More