On
April 9th, 2008, over 1200 people came together to honor four
remarkable men and women - Matthew Shultz, Christine Zhen, James
Bakheit, and Shiela Smith - who overcame tough challenges to
become productive and independent citizens of our Bay Area
community, and to recognize two outstanding employers - Laguna
Honda Hospital and Mission Pie - whose commitment to the growth
and well being of their employees earned them the title of
Business Leader. This 16th annual Strictly Business Awards
Luncheon was the most successful yet, raising over $800,000 for
JVS programs.
2008
Sponsors |
Donate to JVS
Employee of the Year Award Winners
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Christine Zhen
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When Christine arrived from China in 2005, she knew
she wanted to continue her career in banking, but
she didn't have the skills needed to get a job in
the U.S. She joined the pilot program of the JVS
Banking Services Training program, where she
improved her English and learned the nuances of
American banking. Because of the bout of polio she
had suffered as a child, Christine requires a
scooter or crutches to get around. Christine had
assumed that with her disability, the jobs she could
get would keep her in the back out of sight, as she
had been in China. When Sterling Bank & Trust
offered to hire her straight out of our program,
however, they placed her right in the front of her
branch, where her infectious smile and winning
personality have charmed co-workers and customers
alike.
See Christine's story.
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Matthew Shultz |
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When he was a sophomore at UCLA,
Matthew's life seemed
straightforward: study hard,
work out every day, and prepare
for a successful career in law.
A month later, a head-on
collision changed all that.
Regaining consciousness five
months after the accident,
Matthew had to begin the
painstaking process of
re-learning everything he
thought he knew - walking,
speech, even eating. The doctors
thought he would never work
again, but Matthew's
determination has defied all
expectations.
Faced with the daunting process
of a job search, the Department
of Rehabilitation referred
Matthew to the JVS Joblink
program, which helped him update
his resume and organize his job
search. At the suggestion of
JVS, Matthew went on
informational interviews,
including one at Canon Kip
Senior Center. The staff of
Canon Kip liked Matthew so much,
they offered him first an
internship and then a full-time
job where he could put his
education, his intelligence, and
his outstanding people skills to
good use.
See Matthew's story.
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James Bakheit
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As a child, James and his family
were forced to flee his native
Sudan to escape civil war and
religious persecution. He lived
in refugee camps in Uganda for
most of his life, finally
reconnecting with his brother as
a teenager. When he came to the
United States in 2005, he needed
work, but didn't know where to
begin. James came to JVS, where
he enrolled in the Retail
Training Program, learning the
basics of customer service and
cash handling. When
representatives from Safeway
came to speak to his class,
James jumped at the opportunity
and applied for a job. He began
work as a Deli Clerk less than
three months after arriving in
this country.
James continues to work with JVS
to further his career, using the
Technology Access Center to
enroll in college, and joining
the LVN Refresher Program to
move towards his goal of
becoming a nurse.
See James'
story.
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Shiela Smith
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Born into a household of neglect and drug addiction,
Shiela was more likely to become a statistic than a
success. But by the time she graduated high school and
aged out of the foster care system, Shiela knew that
with hard work, she could create a better future for
herself. Unprepared to find more than the most basic of
minimum-wage jobs, Shiela enrolled in the JVS Legal
Employment Action Program, or LEAP. Through LEAP, she
learned a professional set of job skills and was placed
in an internship at NORCAL Mutual Insurance Company.
NORCAL was so impressed with Shiela's quick mind, strong
work ethic, and unbelievable drive that they hired her
on full-time, and have since promoted her three times.
Now 25, Shiela juggles her time between work, finishing
up her college degree, and raising her young niece and
nephew.
See Shiela's story.
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Business Leadership Award Winners
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Laguna Honda Hospital |
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Time and time again, Laguna Honda Hospital has invested
in its most valuable asset: its employees. From
referring staff to JVS for training to adjusting the
busy schedules of nurses so they can get to class to
partnering with JVS to pilot innovative new programs
that move their employees up the career ladder, Laguna
Honda Hospital is committed to growing its own solution
to the national nursing shortage, proving their
commitment both to their employees and to their
residents.
See the Laguna Honda Hospital story.
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Mission Pie |
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Since its opening in January of 2007, most of Mission
Pie's employees have been JVS youth clients, special
education students for whom this is one of their first
real job experiences. The dedication of the
business' staff to the growth and learning of their
young employees made them a clear choice for the
Business Leadership Award.
While the name Mission Pie refers to its neighborhood,
the choice of words is appropriate. Mission Pie is a
small business that proves that you can do well and do
good at the same time by serving pie with a mission: A
mission to educate urban communities about the food
system. A mission to support young people in their
first job experiences. A mission to reach out to
schools and organizations like JVS to create a network
of support for its employees. And of course, a mission
to serve healthy and delicious pie.
See the Mission Pie story. |
Event Sponsors:
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Event Underwriter: 
Employee of the Year Award Sponsors:
Business Leadership Award Sponsors:
Event Co-Chairs:
Laurence
M.
Baer, San Francisco Giants
Warren Hellman, Hellman & Friedman LLC
Lisa Stevens, Wells Fargo
Additional
Sponsors:
Program
Support: $100,000 and Above
Bay Area Workforce
Funding Collaborative
California Pacific Medical Center
Council for Adult Experiential Learning
Walter & Elise Haas Fund
Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund
Jewish Community Endowment Kohn Fund
Jewish Community Endowment Newhouse Fund
Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the
Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties
Walter S. Johnson Foundation
Sandler Family Foundation
Anonymous
President Level Donors: $50,000 and Above
Bank of America
David B. Gold Foundation
Phyllis Friedman
The Hellman Family
Kaiser Permanente
Mt. Zion Health Fund
Salesforce.com Foundation
Roselyne C. Swig and The Swig Company
Wachovia
Wells Fargo
Executive Level Donors: $25,000 and Above
AT&T
Gerson Bakar and Barbara Bass Bakar
Catholic Healthcare West
Dockers® San Francisco
Forest City Development / Westfield San Francisco Centre
GGS Foundation
Marcia and John Goldman
Hellman & Friedman LLC
IBM Corporation
Alexander M. and June L. Maisin Foundation
Bernard Osher Foundation
San Francisco Foundation
Shorenstein Company
Sterling Bank & Trust / Seligman Family Foundation
Joyce and Larry Stupski
Anonymous
Partners: $15,000 and Above
Frank A. Campini Foundation
First Republic Bank
Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin
Philanthropic Fund
Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay
Miranda Lux Foundation
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Lisa & John Pritzker Family Fund
Anonymous
Investors: $10,000 and Above
Aramark
Richard Beleson
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Dana Corvin and Harris Weinberg
The Handlery Foundation
Elayne L. and Harold B. Kane
Macy’s West
Liebe and Bill Patterson
Ellen and Douglas Rosenberg
San Francisco Giants
The Shorenstein Family
Morris Stulsaft Foundation
UCSF University Community Partnerships Program
The Walnut Fund
Directors: $5,000 and Above
AAA of Northern California, Nevada & Utah
Adobe Community Giving
Advent Software
Bank of the West
Bay Area Council / Committee on Jobs
Belvedere Capital Partners
BNY Mellon Wealth Management
BridgeStreet Consulting
John Brown
Byer California
Clear Benefits
Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP
Ben Colloff, M.D. **
Fleishman-Hillard Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Fried
The Herbst Foundation
Michael and Martina Knee
Erin and Jeffrey Lager
Elaine and Ward Lindenmayer
Milton and Sophie Meyer Fund
Paulette Meyer and David Friedman
Microsoft
Morrison & Foerster LLP
Nibbi Brothers General Contractors
O’Melveny & Myers, LLP
Pearlstein Family Foundation
Rabin Worldwide, Inc.
Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai LLP, Public Law Group
Reuben & Junius, LLP
The Safeway Foundation
San Francisco 49ers
Betty and Jack Schafer
Randee and Joseph Seiger
Jordan Sills
SKS Investments, LLC
Abby Snay and Ed Yelin
Dr. Linda Sonntag, UBUNTU LLC
Telecare Corporation
Victoria Treyger
UCSF Medical Center
University of California, San Francisco
Van Löben Sels/Rembe Rock Foundation
Visa Commercial Solutions
S. Douglas and Judith S. Weil
Anonymous
Benefactors: $2,500 and Above
ABD Insurance and Financial Services
AIG Retirement
Lilli I. Alberga and Larry Bardoff
Larry and Pam Baer
Cannon Constructors, Inc.
Kathleen Chaikin and Gerald Bernstein
City College of San Francisco
Harry and Judy Cohn
Congregation Emanu-El
Deloitte LLP
Steven and Pamela Dinkelspiel
Laura and John Fisher
The Friend Family
FSN Bay Area
Lawrence J. Goldzband
Stephen and Kristine Jaeger
Jewish Home of San Francisco
Jones Day
Laurie Kahn
The Kaplan Family
Michael Karasik and Cynthia Bolton-Karasik
Barbara and Ron Kaufman
KGO-AM Radio, Inc.
Hamila Kownacki
McKesson Foundation
Fran and David Meckler
MJM Management / Mary McCue
Paul and Sheri Robbins
Richard K. Robbins
Eli & Mae Rosen Foundation
Barbara and Richard Rosenberg
Susie and Denis Roy
San Francisco Business Times
Steven Sherr and Karen Hall
Steven Sockolov and Susan Snyder
Bob and Carol Tessler
Travelocity
Michelle Waldgeir
Marilyn and Murry Waldman
Willis Insurance Services
Special Thanks
Comcast
Dockers® San Francisco
Joie de Vivre Hospitality
Macy’s West
San Francisco Business Times
San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Magazine
Scott Seligman
See’s Candies
** of blessed memory |
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