The globalization of American business has been rapid, massive, and devastating to individuals and communities alike. At any given time there are over 15 million unemployed, underemployed and unhappily employed people in the US, many of whom have given up on finding a good job again. Family disintegration, rapidly rising bankruptcy rates and home foreclosures are examples of the enormous costs of the lack of consistent services available to anyone who loses a job.

For the past 15 years, Professionals In Transition has been a volunteer organization dedicated to helping the unemployed and underemployed, regardless of job type or pay grade, providing emotional and educational support and social and career networking and advice. Our members find us through our website: jobsearching.org and through our physical chapters in Winston-Salem and Greensboro, NC. However, the demand for PIT’s services nationwide has risen significantly and has outpaced our ability to deliver them. Every month we receive over 50,000 hits on our website and 15-20 requests for new chapters from across the US, and we see an opportunity to expand our outreach by using the technological and networking advances of the internet.

Our goal is to use the power of social networking to create PIT CyberChapters throughout the country, linking individuals within both geographic and professional communities. Effective networking is the single-most important element in a successful job search, and our CyberChapters will create new talent communities where they don’t currently exist, generating powerful forums for the exchange of support, education, and job leads. This will enable us to expand our services and reach the increasing number of people who, through no fault of their own, find themselves without a job, without adequate financial resources, and without substantive local, state or federal support.

WHAT WE NEED:

To accomplish our goal of creating a re-employment network and revising and upgrading our website, we project a cost of $135,000. PIT is seeking an online partner to assist us with the creation of our CyberChapter network, and we are now creating a full and comprehensive curriculum that focuses on information for dealing with the grief associated with job loss and further development of a re-employment “Tool Kit.” We have approximately 40% of the needed materials for this curriculum and are looking for funding to research, develop, and add materials to the present curriculum.

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