For the second year in a row, Esperanza hosted the Mega Hispanic Job Fair, organized by La Mega 105.7 FM Spanish-language radio station, on Thursday, November 5th from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Esperanza College of Eastern University in North Philadelphia’s Hunting Park Neighborhood to meet a growing need for professional level jobs in the North Philadelphia Latino community.
The City of Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Rich Negrin was in attendance with more than 250 community members to give a word to encourage job-seekers in our community. Negrin thanked Esperanza and La Mega for partnering to organize such a valuable event for the Hispanic community. He spoke of the importance of employment as a backbone for city families and of the value of job fairs as a vehicle for connecting citizens to opportunities, noting that he himself secured his first position at a job fair as a teenager.
In addition to employers who came out, PECO offered a resource table to help low-income people apply for LIHEAP and EnrollAmerica helped the uninsured enroll for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
The amount of community members attending job fairs in our community as well as employers interested in recruiting demonstrates both a great need and an interest in the Hunting Park community. With the increasing amount of educational opportunity provided at Esperanza Academy and Esperanza College of Eastern University, the workforce in Hunting Park is only becoming more knowledgeable and qualified for positions across the city of Philadelphia.
“Esperanza is grateful to La Mega and the City of Philadelphia for collaborating with us to make this critical resource available to our community once again.” says Phil Dawson, Senior Director of Housing and Economic Development, “By working together with the media, local government, and private sector employers, we were able to successfully connect those in need of employment to viable career opportunities.”
Employers recruiting at the job fair included: Philadelphia Police Department, Philadelphia Fire Department, JEVS Home Care, City of Philadelphia Fleet Management, City of Philadelphia Department of Corrections, UPS, Health Partners Plans, City of Philadelphia Department of Human Relations, World Financial Group, PASS Home Care, and more.