On December 2, 2011 Building Skills Partnership held its First Annual Health Fair in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente. Over 60 members and their families received health information on diabetes, nutrition, and received free screenings provided by Kaiser Permanente such as glucose, cholesterol, BMI, blood pressure, and flu shots. Other health community groups such as Centro Cultural which provides recreational courses for the whole family offered wellness resources. All participants enjoyed nutritious snacks and got to participate in a raffle where they won prices for being proactive with their health. Overall, participants enjoyed themselves and received valuable tools that will help them maintain healthier life styles.
On Saturday, August 27th, the BSP in collaboration with SEIU-USWW and Kaiser Permanente held a Health and Back to School Fair in Los Angeles. Attendees were able to receive different services and information on how they can better their health, your life, and how they can get more involved in your children’s education. More than 200 individuals participated in the health fair, and 0ver 90 backpacks with school supplies were distributed to children.
During Google’s Volunteer week, over 50 janitors and Google employee volunteers were thanked for their participation in a pilot tutoring program at a night-time event June 16th hosted by Google’s Facilities Director and ABM. For over three months, tutoring pairs met at least once a week for individualized tutoring. Google employee, Sassi Morales Diaz Ordaz, spoke at the event about how rewarding it has been for her to see the janitor she tutored progress from not writing to writing a six syllable word. The event also raised over $5,000 thanks to matching funds from Google for donations from their employees.
On February 9th, 2011 BSP held its first annual statewide event titled “Celebrating our Partnerships” at City National Plaza in Los Angeles; BSP provides training to property services at City National Plaza. The event had two distinct objectives: (1) to promote BSP to prospecting funders and (2) to highlight the success of BSP statewide. The event was attended by various local businesses, community organizations, key community leaders, and elected officials. Over 130 individuals attended the event.
At its first annual event, BSP honored Mike Garcia, President of SEIU United Service Workers West and Alan D. Levy, Chairman of Tishman International Companies for their leadership in initiating a partnership to provide a better quality of life for property service workers and their families. The event was a great example of the relationship and commitment from employers, building owners, and the SEIU-USWW to train workers. Attendees included: Jan Perry, Los Angeles Councilwoman District 9; Moctesuma Esparza, Film Producer / CEO—Maya Entertainment; Monica Garcia, School Board President of LAUSD; Jose Huizar, Los Angeles Councilwoman District 14; and Ret. Senator Richard Polanco.
The event highlighted the unique relationship of business and labor – a true partnership. A total of $8,000 was fundraised which will be used to continue to provide educational training to low-wage property service workers all throughout the state of California.
