Meet Our Employment Partners

Learn about how employers partner with Cara to create lasting systemic change by strengthening communities through inclusive employment.

Community transformation: How to make your workplace community stronger through inclusive employment

Cara unlocks the power and purpose within our communities by mitigating generational poverty, first, through the gainful employment of our job seekers and secondly, by connecting our employers with the talent they need to thrive. Employers who practice inclusive hiring create lasting systemic change and leverage a talent pool that provides a company-wide strategic advantage—actively transforming workplace communities.

Together, Cara and our employment partners are changing the employment landscape. Here’s how you can join our efforts.

A History of Strengthening our Communities

An essential aspect of our program since the beginning, Cara’s first employment partners were the business associates and friends of our founder Tom Owens. These individuals were all dedicated to community transformation and making a positive social impact through their businesses. These initial relationships taught us about the importance of establishing deep and meaningful partnerships rather than simple transactional alliances. 

To date, some of our longest-lasting employment partners include ABM, Northwestern Medicine, JPMorgan Chase, CTA, and the University of Chicago Medical Center. Our long-term relationships have allowed us to prepare and refer handpicked job candidates for each company and position. Our deep institutional knowledge of their needs coupled with our close understanding of our candidates’ capabilities allow us to consistently match the right people with the right job, ensuring better retention.

Becoming an Employment Partner 

All of the organizations we work with have one thing in common—they’re as passionate about inclusive employment as we are. Currently, we partner with a wide variety of employers of all sizes and across industries including food service, healthcare, hospitality, wellness, janitorial, manufacturing, transportation, and more.

Employers are committed to being in an ongoing, open conversation with us. Our partnership is ever-growing and mutually-beneficial, as we collaborate closely to set goals and evolve them over time. 

We are committed to your company’s success

Our goal is to make hiring an enjoyable process for our partners by providing concierge-level services that help them reach their talent goals and contribute to community transformation. We’re able to refer uniquely qualified candidates that fit specific recruitment and retention goals because of our closely-cultivated relationships and knowledge of both our partners and participants. 

In addition to targeted referrals and hiring support, Cara provides several other key services to our employment partners around inclusive employment. These include: 

• Consulting services and exclusive training opportunities on best practices in inclusive employment
• Direct feedback on candidates’ experience navigating the application process
• Opportunities for staff to engage with Cara participants through service days, information sessions, and branded training programs 

Connecting employment partners to the community

Our program seeks to help employers become actively involved with their community and make real effort to improve it, rather than just existing inside it. Through a partnership with Cara, employers are able to take meaningful action for transforming their communities by committing to inclusive employment. 

To learn more about becoming a Cara employment partner, visit us here or contact info@carachicago.org to connect with our Business Development team. We’re so excited to partner with you—let’s get to work!