Staff
 Eleanor Moran (Ellie) Executive Director View Bio |
 Joan Kaminski Program Manager View Bio |
View Our 2010 Annual Financial Report
History, Purpose and Accomplishments
WERC is an agency committed to assisting women move to financial independence and self-sufficiency. It was granted nonprofit status on November 5, 1999, and was registered as a Charity on October 2, 2000. Prior to that time, it operated as the Greater Utica Displaced Homemaker Center and was a program administered by the New York State Labor Community Services Agency (NYSLCSA). In total it has been providing services for over 20 years.
Its Executive Director Eleanor (Ellie) Moran has been with the Center for 20 years of its existence. When the NYSLCSA decided to release the Displaced Homemaker Program, Ellie solicited the support from local leaders and proceeded to found the Women’s Employment and Resource Center, Inc.
The Center is governed by a Board of Trustees of between 7 and 12 members. They include one member who has been through the program and offers insight from a participant’s perspective. Other members come to the table representing private business, educational institutions, or other agencies.
Staff ranges from 2 to 5 staff members that would include a Program Manager, Trainer/Facilitators, Intake/Employment Specialist, and Executive Director. Staff positions are dependent upon available funding for each contract year.
The Center has always had the mission of helping women achieve personal and financial independence. It accomplishes this mission by assisting women in gaining access to the highest level of employment possible that would result in financial independence for themselves and their families.
- For its initial10 years it provided basic job readiness and computer literacy training cycles. Upon becoming an independent nonprofit, it was able to expand the services and training it provided to encompass more in-depth topics.
- Throughout all of its existence it has served residents in Oneida-Madison-Herkimer Counties in New York State.
- The predominant population it serves is "displaced homemakers" as defined by legislation in 1978.
- While it continues to provide job readiness and computer literacy, it has developed programs that are industry specific. These trainings are a result of partnerships with local businesses that identify specific employment needs and skills. It is a collaboration that incorporates hard skills and soft skills as deemed appropriate and required for sustaining employment. As well, it provides a pool of job seekers that are realistic in their job expectations, and are clear in their responsibilities to their employer. The result is two fold: job satisfaction for the job seeker, and a significant reduction in turnover for the employer.
- WERC has been a strong partner in our local Workforce Investment Board since the WIB’s inception in 1998. It is an integral and respected component of the workforce development system in our tri-county area.
- WERC is funded through state, federal and corporate grants; private individual donors; and various foundations. It also relies on its relationships to provide "fee-for-services" training projects with other not-for-profit agencies.
- In 2002 WERC was awarded the Nonprofit Business of the Year Award by the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce for its contribution to the economic well-being of the area. It was again nominated for the year 2010.
- WERC has initiated a grant fund (The RISE Fund)from which women can access nominal financial assistance that will be used for immediate obstacles to employment, e.g. work-specific attire/tools/equipment; auto insurance; auto repair; testing/licensing, etc. Donations from $5.00 to $10,000 have helped us build this resource to assist the women we serve. It is overseen by a Board committee and WERC staff.
- Working Solutions
- The Workforce Investment Board
- Workforce Development Institute
- The Peacemaker Program
- Department of Social Services
- The YWCA of the Mohawk Valley
- BOCES Consortium of Continuing Education
- Mohawk Valley Community College
- Herkimer County Community College
- The Resource Center for Independent Living
- ARC Oneida-Lewis Chapter, NYSARC
- Mohawk Valley Community Action
- Oneida County Workforce Development
- and many more
WERC is able to serve from 160 to 270 women each year... which means 160 to 270 families have a chance to move their lives forward! Some require minimal assistance to "jumpstart" them back to work. Others require much more intensive assistance to insure that they can acquire and retain employment. Our goal is to find a job that can be a stepping stone to a better position at a later date. Tools and support are provided to insure that resources and information are immediately available that can help a woman not only retain employment, but so they can also advance.
Some of our partnerships include:BUT our greatest partner is YOU......you are interested to find out more of what we do to help build a stronger community!!