Dale Mangel will complete his last week of the career and job readiness program at Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA) this week.
"I was looking for a second chance," Mangel said.
Mangel and many others visited CMCA at its Callaway Family Resource Center, located at 610 Collier Lane in Fulton, on Monday to celebrate the organization and learn more about its services.
CMCA marked 50 years of social service with an open house Monday. A milestone the organization's executive director, Darin Preis, described as a "bittersweet birthday." He said CMCA's celebration of 50 years of service is not a celebration of poverty.
According to CMCA, 15.1 percent of Callaway County residents are living in poverty. Preis added that poverty would be worse if it wasn't for organizations like CMCA.
"We've made a lot of progress, but still have further to go," Preis said.
Preis first got involved in 2005 as a grant writer for Head Start. Eventually, a position opened up at CMCA.
"I jumped," Preis said. "It's a nice mixture of policy work and seeing how programs work."
When he was writing grants, Preis said he missed getting to see how the work they were doing affected people. Now, he is in a better position to see how CMCA programs help people like Mangel.
Mangel eventually wants to get a job as a truck driver. However, he said he has some work to do after receiving a DWI before he can do so.
"I have a little bit longer to go to get to that goal," Mangel said.
In the meantime, he is hoping to get a job that requires cooking and preparing food. He said the resume and job application skills he has obtained in the program have been the most helpful for him.
At the beginning, middle and end of the career program, participants draw a picture of how they feel. When he began the program, Mangel said he felt discouraged and alone. By the middle of the program, he said he felt more hopeful. Now, as the end of the program fast approaches, Mangel said he feels grateful.
"If it wasn't for Cristi Matthews, I wouldn't be here," Mangel said.
Cristi Matthews, family advocate at CMCA, put the career class together and held the first session last spring. She encouraged Mangel to get involved.
The career class program is open to members of the general public that meet 125 percent of the poverty level. The program is six to seven weeks and focuses on helping participants develop job-related skills. One skill Matthews said is imperative is balancing responsibilities.
"Once you get the job, you have to keep the job," Matthews said.
The program teaches job application, resume and cover letter writing and practices interviewing. Furthermore, Matthews said they also teach time management, communication and other skills.
Preis said CMCA has job training that focuses on the "nuts and bolts" of getting a job and being a good employee. They also have job-specific skill building and some initiatives that work to give people entrepreneurial skills.
"We are trying to eliminate poverty," Preis said to a crowd at CMCA's open house.
He added that such a task can not be done over night. Preis said he is proud of the work CMCA is doing, but added that they can always do more.
CMCA is hoping to do more with a new class it is offering starting next month called Building Strong Families. Matthews said a healthy family life and support system helps set participants up for greater success in the job-related classes. She added that on average, 50 percent of the program's participants have a job lined up by the time they graduate from the seven-week program.
Community Organizer Tad Dobyns previously told the Fulton Sun that part of the value of CMCA is the wide variety of programs it offers - including the Head Start early childhood learning programs, Missouri Works Assistance, Energy Assistance, Family Development and Step Up to Leadership.
"There's so many different things we do ... it affects a lot of people in different ways. It's an effort at making the community stronger as a whole," Dobyns said in a prior interview.
To learn more about CMCA and the services it offers call, (573) 443-8706 or visit ShowMeAction.org.