Put your Spanish-language skills to work for our community as a SparkPoint San Francisco volunteer!

United Way needs Spanish-speaking volunteers to greet clients at our SparkPoint Center at Plaza Adelante in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Volunteers will help introduce clients to the wide variety of services available at SparkPoint, including:

• Free tax preparation
• Job training and career development
• Financial coaching • Accessing higher education
• Establishing and building savings

Volunteers can serve as their schedules permit, within the following dates and times:  January to April,  Monday – Friday, 1 to 8 p.m. or Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Learn more by contacting Stephan Pippen,  United Way’s Director of Volunteer Engagement, at  spippen@uwba.org or (415) 808-4345.

Help us spread the word by downloading and posting our SparkPoint Volunteer Flyer in your workplace.

Ever wonder which industries are growing? What kind of jobs will be available in 5 or 10 years?

Wonder no more. Campaign for Young America has produced a one-page brief that highlights the best job opportunities in California over the next several years.

According to the brief, 61% of jobs in California will require more than a high school diploma in 2018.  It highlights the top “growth” jobs that require education or training after high school.

Do you know a young person who wants to improve his or her career prospects? In addition to sharing the brief, encourage him or her to connect with United Way’s MatchBridge and SparkPoint.

MatchBridge helps young people find jobs and internships, gaining work-based learning experiences that inspire them to pursue the post-secondary credentials that can prepare them for a rewarding career and self-sufficiency.

At SparkPoint, partners like Opportunity Junction and the Stride Center provide vocational training opportunities for individuals seeking to gain additional skills that will make them stand out in the job market.

Learn more at www.MatchBridge.org and www.SparkPointCenters.org.

Tamiko’s story is like many Bay Area residents’ during this slow economic recovery. The single mom from Richmond lost her job three years ago. Like so many others struggling to find work during the recession, Tamiko fell deeper and deeper into debt.

Fortunately, with the help of United Way’s SparkPoint program, she recently landed a job doing email marketing for Sephora, the international cosmetics store. She’s making considerably more than her previous position and can kiss unemployment goodbye.

Tamiko first turned to SparkPoint West Contra Costa after hearing about it from a friend. She enrolled in career courses and learned everything from writing an effective resume and negotiating salaries to enhancing her professional image. Through one-on-one financial coaching, Tamiko created a household budget and has started to rebuild her credit. She also took advantage of SparkPoint’s free tax preparation services.

Tamiko’s hard work paid off. Despite the economic downturn, she got the job at Sephora – no small feat as unemployment in California remains high at 12%.

“My SparkPoint coaches helped me through one of the toughest times in my life. They were my light at the end of the tunnel, constantly reminding me not to lose hope,” said Tamiko. “They energized me and helped me stay focused in my job search. And with my credit, they helped me focus on small goals, instead of getting overwhelmed by my financial situation.”

Tamiko is well on her way to building a more secure financial future for herself and her daughter. SparkPoint has given her the skills and confidence to continue down the path to financial stability.

SparkPoint Coach Nicole Harden said, “Tamiko is the ultimate Spark Point client. Her go-getter attitude definitely paid off. She reached out for help with her employment search, and we were able to provide that. We enhanced her resume and cover letter and discussed networking opportunities. SparkPoint also provided Tamiko with a quiet space to work on her job search.”

Nicole is an employee of Rubicon Programs, one of several partner organizations that collaborate to serve clients at SparkPoint West Contra Costa.

Learn more about SparkPoint at www.SparkPointCenters.org.

During this time of increasingly scarce resources, helping people achieve financial stability requires unique partnerships and focus. In establishing SparkPoint East Contra Costa, twelve county agencies and local nonprofits have banded together, offering a full range of financial services, all under one roof. Creating SparkPoint is a real opportunity to work together more effectively to really help families in our community.”

- Joe Valentine, Director of Contra Costa County Employment & Human Services, which has provided $200,000 to support the launch of SparkPoint East Contra Costa in Bay Point.

Read the press release, “United Way and Contra Costa County Open Poverty-Fighting SparkPoint Center in Bay Point.”

Learn more about SparkPoint at www.sparkpointcenters.org.

“How can I save if I feel like I’m barely making ends meet?”  “What’s the best way to start paying down my debt?”  “Will I ever be able to buy my own home?”

SparkPoint financial coaches help clients tackle challenging questions like these every day.  To succeed, they need to address complex financial issues in terms that are easy to understand.

To help coaches continue to improve the way they work with clients, professional financial counselor Kate Wilusz addressed these and other questions last week during a financial planning workshop at United Way.  The workshop offered new approaches for discussing financial challenges, tools and goals with clients.

Key takeaways included the strategy of “hiding” money in savings before it reaches a checking account, the benefits of certain accounts such as Roth IRAs, and the role of financial planning in achieving long-term goals.

Deana Deleon, a financial coach and CPA at SparkPoint East Contra Costa in Bay Point, came to the workshop to get new ideas for how to talk to her clients about their finances.

“The Financial Planning 101 training underscored the importance of having a cash reserve as a way to reduce and stay out of debt,” Deana said.  “Savings is a hard topic to teach our lower-income clients.  With the new information and techniques I learned from this training, I hope to empower more individuals and families to save!”

Several United Way staff also attended to learn how to better manage their own finances.

Learn more about SparkPoint at www.sparkpointcenters.org.