Innovative JDC Employment Program Boasts 90 Percent Success Rate in Israel

Tough love 'STRIVE' model developed on the streets of Harlem and exported to Tel Aviv; Program soon to expand to other cities in Israel

New York/Jerusalem---JDC today reported that 90 percent of the graduates from the first class of its STRIVE employment program now work full-time. This class completed the STRIVE program in early February. STRIVE is a month-long, intensive, work readiness program developed more than 20 years ago in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City to help "difficult-to-employ" community members understand accountability and develop the interpersonal skills necessary for success in a full-time work environment.

Early this year, JDC launched a partnership with STRIVE and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation to address the high rate of unemployment in Israeli society. This partnership is part of a broader JDC initiative with the Israeli government. Unemployment hovers at 11 percent in Israel and is highest among Arab Israelis, ultra-Orthodox and immigrant populations from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia. JDC’s "poverty-to-independence" Employment Initiative began in 2005 with the focus of developing services to help the long-term jobless overcome social and educational barriers to workplace success.

"We are so proud of this graduating class," said Judge Ellen Heller, JDC's president. "They are testament to the efficacy of the STRIVE model and the fact that with the right tools and guidance anybody who is motivated can successfully integrate into Israel's workforce and become a contributor to larger society."

STRIVE started 21 years ago in the basement of a Harlem housing project. Its track record of helping more than 30,000 people transform their lives and become better employees and positive economic contributors to society was the main reason JDC asked the organization to bring its program to Israel. The unique curriculum is designed to transform anyone who has had difficulty maintaining or obtaining employment into a work-ready individual.

As part of the program, the candidates are required to complete assignments in group and independent settings, work through interpersonal issues, exercise self control, and demonstrate on a daily basis the tools they have acquired during the training and will need for success in the world of work. In the end, STRIVE’s graduates are no longer seen as hard to employ. Instead, they are known to be job ready. Upon completing the month-long program candidates will have an intense two-year follow-up and a lifetime commitment of service. More than 80-percent of all the people who complete the STRIVE program remain employed after two years.

"STRIVE’s unique tough-love approach emphasizing accountability, responsibility and personal growth, has a 20-year track record of achieving the desired results and lasting a lifetime," said Rob Carmona, president and CEO of STRIVE. "STRIVE has always maintained that getting people to work will improve their self-esteem – making them less apt to commit crimes or put themselves or their families in danger. Our program has the potential to not only positively impact the Israeli economy but also to mend the country’s fractured communities."

The STRIVE pilot is among the Employment Initiative’s first projects. Staff trained jointly by JDC and STRIVE are operating the program, which will soon expand to the northern Israeli city of Haifa. The STRIVE/JDC partnership is being funded in Israel through a generous grant from the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation.

STRIVE is a Harlem based non-profit job training and placement agency that has specialized in assisting the hard-to-employ. The organization has branches in 20 cities across the United States and a branch in London, England. The core feature of STRIVE’s curriculum is a one-month job readiness program with a two year follow-up and lifetime commitment that emphasizes a positive attitude, accountability, responsibility, and personal growth. STRIVE is committed to transforming anyone who has had difficulty maintaining or obtaining employment into a work-ready individual. Additional information about the organization can be obtained at www.strivenational.org or by calling (212) 360-1100