At the center of everything we do is our participants. Over the years, we have augmented our service delivery to best reach job seekers where they were at – but ultimately, our participants are what guide us in our work and in our decision making. As we look to the next chapter of this organization, we recognize that our needs and our challenges will change as our programming becomes more nimble, accessible, and effective. As we adapt, we want to ensure that at the heart of this work we are first and foremost in service to our participants.

None of this work we do is possible without our staff – who we often refer to as the best and brightest in social purpose. While our goal has always been to be an equitable employer of choice that offers career depth and mobility, Cara Collective has not been immune to “The Great Resignation” most industries have seen over the past year. As we continue to evolve as an organization, we want to do so while guaranteeing an employee experience that excites, invigorates, and prepares everyone for the career they hope for over the long-term.

For more than 30 years, the work of Cara Collective has been steeped in racial equity. The majority of the community we serve is black and brown and we recognize the societal challenges they face, and how those challenges contribute to barriers to employment. We know we cannot do this work without talking about our commitment to racial equity explicitly and we want to hold ourselves and our partners accountable.

If we are going to be successful in our vision of eradicating relational and financial poverty, we must change the dynamic. Through the work of our social enterprises and expansion arm, we have demonstrated how spreading our reach and influence can increase opportunities for gainful employment. However, as this need is still great, we must ask ourselves how can we better leverage our partners (new and old) to close the wealth gap – in Chicago and beyond.