California Employer Advisory Council

Community Service

April 3, 2009

Veterans Holiday Story 

In November 2008, the Employment Development Department (EDD) staff from the San Gabriel Valley Workforce Services - El Monte office joined forces to work on a project to adopt four veterans for the holidays, all of whom were identified as experiencing hardships; and were enrolled our Veterans Program - two with Agustin Gomez, Veterans Workforce Specialist, and two with Manuel Almeida, Veterans Employment Services Specialist.

On December 23, 2008, the four veterans selected for "adopt for the holidays" and receive donations, came into the El Monte EDD site per our invitation. They had not idea about our plans for them. Once they arrived with their families and settled in to one of our conference rooms, we thanked each veteran for their service to our Country and for helping to make the United States of America a better place for all of us to live.

As outlined in their profiles sent to the San Gabriel Valley Employer Advisory Council (SGV EAC) Board, most of them served on tours in Iraq and are classified as "recently separated" veterans. All of them are faced with various difficulties stemming from our current economic situation in addition to readjusting to civilian life. Three of the veterans have small children, including a newborn. Needless to say, the four veterans were quite humbled and overwhelmed by the acknowledgement, thanks and generous gifts they received, including the $500 WalMart gift card donated by the SGV EAC. We also thanked their spouses and other family members for the support they rendered while their loved ones served in the military.

It was certainly a joyous and heartfelt occasion for EDD staff. We, too, made some donations of toys, clothing, etc. and put the items in decorative boxes for each family. The veterans thanked us for the donations, although it was made clear to them that all the thanks should go to them, not us. It was obvious that the veterans and their families truly enjoyed their time at EDD and we took pictures to capture some moments of the event.

Job Shadow Day

On February 27, 2009, the San Gabriel Valley Workforce Services, El Monte site, hosted a Groundhog Job Shadow Day. The EDD Youth Employment Opportunity Program (YEOP) Mentor coordinated the activities which included presentations by partner staff from the Central San Gabriel Valley WorkSource Center and Goodwill El Monte Youth Opportunity Program.

The event began at 8:30 a.m. and ended at 1 p.m. There were eleven students along with their career counselors from Mountain View High School, Arroyo High School and South El Monte High School who participated. The event began with a welcome from the Site Manager and followed with a tour of the facility. EDD and Goodwill staff provided information on services and programs offered through their respective agency.

A Mini Job Search Workshop was conducted by the EDD YEOP staff along with staff from the Goodwill El Monte Youth Opportunity Program. The students had the opportunity to job shadow staff in Center's Core Services, the EDD Veterans Program, and Goodwill's Youth Program. Continental breakfast and lunch were provided through the generosity of the San Gabriel Valley Employer Advisory Council.