By Christina Hallford-Moynihan
The Women’s Opportunity Center (WOC) is hosting their first ever Glamour, Glitz and Goblins Gala from 7 p.m. to midnight Friday, Oct. 25, at the Holiday Inn Electronics Parkway. Proceeds benefit WOC of Syracuse, which provides training and employment services to men and women who have been out of the workforce for any amount of time.
If you haven’t heard of the Women’s Opportunity Center (WOC) in Syracuse, you may be missing out.
“[At] the Women’s Opportunity Center… [I have] the opportunity to work with people that struggled to find their voice, learning that they have the power to change their path,” said Amy Canavan, a Career Development Life Coach with the organization.
Amy wishes she had known about the program and opportunities sooner. Her husband was the displaced homemaker in her family, needing to take care of their son who required extra care. When the time came to return to the workforce, he needed to renew his job skills. Had they known about the Displaced Homemakers Program, the struggle for him to reenter the workforce after a long absence would not have been as difficult.
“Since joining the WOC and sharing my husband’s story, our staff has worked hard to raise community awareness on what our program has to offer the community on a larger scale,” she said. “No one should struggle to find help that way again.”
The WOC provides several work readiness programs to help displaced homemakers attain the skills they need to return to the workforce. The nonprofit serves individuals who have been home taking care of the home and family, as well as men and women who have lost their main source of income due to separation/divorce, widowhood, the disability of a family member that requires care, job loss, single parenting etc. They have several programs, services and workshops available such as One on One Professional Development Life Coaching; LEADS CNY, which focuses on developing customer service skills; BOAT (Business Office Administration Training) primarily working on typing, software familiarity and project management skills; as well as other workshops catering to Time Management, Business Etiquette, Public Speaking, Introduction to Bookkeeping, Professional Social Networking and several more. These programs can be invaluable when returning to the workforce after a long absence.
The mentorship, support and training the WOC provides the skills necessary to become financially independent or to contribute to the household in a financial capacity. If you find success through the WOC but find yourself in a situation where you could use their help again, you are always welcomed back. For more information on WOC please visit http://www.womensopportunity.org
All of these programs will be supported with the Gala on Oct. 25. The event will consist of a cocktail hour, vendor fair, silent auction, dinner and dancing and is being sponsored by Advanced Atomization Technologies and One Group. Tickets are $125, and are available on Eventbrite: https://bit.ly/2JOixgN
To volunteer, advertise or donate, contact the WOC at (315) 446-0550.
