Springboard for Volunteer For Work

Hi Guys, 

Hope you are having a great Monday. So this new social networking site for Entrepreneurs is launching and I friend of mine has taken the opportunity to share it with me. It is already seeming promising and better than what LinkedIn has accomplished (a competitive site for business professionals)! You MUST check this out!

Here is my link for those who would like to work with me: http://ACarson.neurs.net

Its FREE right now that it is in pre-launch and it will allow you to connect with a lot of business minded people among many other things. Not sure how it will play out but it took me 2 minutes to sign up and get my affiliate link.

This site is what eharmony is for dating, what amazon is for buying things and what Facebook is for connecting with friends, so this site is for entrepreneurs and startup businesses. Very interesting concept. 

Check it out here http://ACarson.neurs.net

The Inception

I’m sure I’ve told this story before, but after my release from prison, I was searching for work. It was definitely a difficult task with the limitations I had. It was tough just getting money for bus fare to go looking for jobs and fill out applications. Luckily, I did have people who were helpful when they could be and I will always be grateful to them for that.

In the meantime, I immediately enrolled in college. That was something that was long overdue for me. I was living with my girlfriend and she was going to work every day, sometimes working two jobs to help support me. As a man, I loathed every single moment I was at home while she was at work. I commend her for being so strong at such a young age because she was ten years younger than me with the wits of a woman ten years my elder.

In this day and time searching for work doesn’t require as much leg work as it once did. So much information is at our fingertips through the internet that even more can be accomplished. I still believed in going to meet the people in charge of hiring when possible and making frequent follow up calls after submitting an application. I’ve never been fond of being judged based upon words on a piece of paper, but rather based on my character and who I am as an individual.

Having a large gap in my work history along with a felony was a double whammy against me in my endeavors to find a job. I was going to school at night in order to leave my day schedule available for work whenever someone did decide to give me an opportunity. But, I still needed something to supplement my time during the day. The solution I came up with was to volunteer. What better way could I network with others, gain new friends, learn of job leads, build character references AND genuinely help others. It was by far one of the proudest decisions I had ever made.

This is the principle upon which Volunteer For Work is based.

Follow us @Vol4Work on twitter. We are all about opening up the line of communication to hear what the people have to say.

Tweets by @Vol4Work
   

Acknowledgment and Acceptance

I have had this dream for a very long time to make an impact in the community and facilitate felons with resources that will help in their endeavors to assimilate themselves back into society. Society, can be very unforgiving towards some and extremely shortsighted with most. We have a tendency to forgive and forget when the opportunity best suits us. Truth of the matter is that there are plenty of people out there committing heinous crimes of injustice and indifference towards the population as a whole simply to target a few.

Example: Once you become a convicted felon you lose certain Constitutional rights as a citizen of the United States. You can't vote. You can't bear arms. Whatever happened to

No taxation, without representation!

We are expected to overcome copious amounts of oppression to get a job and pay taxes like everyone else, yet we have no voice over how our money is spent. Because of a conviction for any felony charge whether violent or not, we lose a right that  prevents us from further protecting our families and homes because we lose the right to own a gun.

What's worse is that they target drug charges so pointedly that it cripples the ability of many to survive. If you are receiving federal aid at the time of getting a drug charge that you are eventually convicted of, you lose your eligibility to receive any further federal aid. Here in Georgia, a drug conviction regardless of the circumstance is grounds for an automatic suspension of your driver's license. A drug conviction precludes you from receiving food stamps, welfare, and medicaid. We are proverbially pushed out the door and left to fend for ourselves. Our health and well-being is not important to anyone.

My goal is to create a program that helps all convicts in their endeavors to be treated with equality. Its time to push for changes in legislation. Obama has declared that every American citizen shall have some form of health coverage by the end of the month. There are many people out there struggling to find a job and could really use medicaid for its intended purpose, yet will not have access to it.

There is no denying that prejudices abound at every turn in this country. I don't intend to focus on what is or was though. I intend to focus on the future; what will be. We have to make our present and future what WE want it to be. The point is to not shy away from the truths of our current society, but point them out and have everyone learn how to navigate through it in order to achieve our goals. I believe one of the worst mistakes we can make in this life is to pretend like something doesn't exist. You don't have to be controlled by it, but you definitely have to be cognizant. Acknowledgment and acceptance are two different things:

I can see them, but they can't see me.

Staffing Firm For Convicted Felons

Here is a great source of help in obtaining employment as a convicted felon. Check out the feature on Ricky Brown that FOX5 NEWS did on him.

Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

There are many empathetic people out there who do make an effort to provide a level playing field for ex convicts. I recommend everyone contact Next Step Staffing Agency .

Another great source for convicted felons is the Goodwill of North Georgia. They offer a plethora of services including training, classes, and employment assistance. I know that they have been instrumental in getting many people jobs at Philips Arena working in the environmental services department.

If you are interested in working in the environmental services department at Philips Arena, the work is contracted to a company called United Temps. Contact them for more information.

Some felons are tech savvy and may be looking for a skill/job that caters to that strength. Here is an organization that offers free online lessons on building a website. Obviously, we live in a modern era dominated by information technology and the internet. This can be a very helpful tool in acquiring work. It can possibly provide you a way to be self-employed, which is always a plus. Here is the web link. www.exoffenders.net.

Felonious Frustrations: Being better than statistics.

Welcome to your source of encouragement and assistance in establishing your place in this generally unforgiving society. I will utilize all of my resources, knowledge, and experience to shine a light in the direction of opportunity. Nothing is ever guaranteed. Let me be the first to establish that fact. If you are looking for instant results then this is probably not your source and I bid you the best of luck in your endeavors. At the end of the day, every opportunity I share is only as good as your determination and preparation. I’m not a ventriloquist so I can’t speak for you and I can’t interview for you as well. My goal is to offer you hope and an alternative to some of the impersonal options of the Department of Labor. There are many organizations and businesses out there who are willing to offer felons another chance.

It’s up to you what you do with the ball when I hand it to you; are you going to drop it, pass it, or shoot it? I know that it can be extremely frustrating to get your hopes up over a, supposedly, solid job lead only for it not to turn out the way you’d like it. It can become depressing and immobilizing. I’ve wanted to give up many times. Yet, the truth of the matter is, no one has ever scored the winning bucket without taking the shot.

Who’s seen Kat Williams’ stand-up “Its Pimpin Pimpin”? “You have to be in tune with your star player.” Ever watched a game and when it got down to the wire, whichever team sport it may be, you got mad when the ball wasn’t placed in the star player’s hand? If anybody can carry that team to a victory, they can. Well, guess what? You are your own star player. Nobody can represent you like you can. No one can lead you to a victory like you can. You are inimitable. Don’t go out here in this world expecting people to believe in you when you don’t even believe in yourself.

As I continue to write, you will learn more about me and my struggles with being an ex con. No one said life would be easy or fair, but it is definitely there for the taking. This is a time when we all have to work six times harder than the average person to achieve our personal, professional, and academic goals. Eventually, others will begin to see our vision and want to help. It’s much easier to get help when you are trying to help yourself. Playing the victim will only leave you the victim.