As SCC’s First Source Program commemorates its second anniversary, we celebrate the 380 Somerville residents that have been served by the program in multiple ways, from the hundreds attending our job-readiness and workers’ rights workshops to the135 people who have found local employment opportunities through the program. Well over a third of these jobs have met or exceeded the city’s living wage of 12.24 per hour.

We also celebrate the more than 60 local employers that we have engaged to participate in the program. We offer special thanks to key employer partners like Union Square Donuts, Vinfen, Chipotle and the City of Somerville who have not only hired First Source participants but have played a significant role in program development. And we extend appreciation to the other Somerville agencies to whom we have been able to refer our participants for services and programs, such as ESOL classes at The Welcome Project and SCALE, computer classes at the Haitian Coalition and quality early childhood education at CAAS.

We celebrate the racial, ethnic, economic and linguistic diversity of the First Source Job Program candidates. It is this diversity that represents what is best about Somerville.

As we celebrate our second anniversary, we would like to thank our funders, Social Equity Campaign donors, the City of Somerville, Skillworks and the LiftUp grant from Brandeis University for making our program possible.

In the many years ahead, we will continue to help people who live, work or study in Somerville find good local jobs with good wages and benefits. Below are testimonials from some First Source clients who are celebrating the achievement of working in their jobs for over one year.

	Rose Raymond Residential Counselor at a mental healthcare provider In this job for one year and one month First Source helped me to do job search, helped me with human resources, and suggested I go to the job fair. After getting a referral, they really knew my name. When I went to the interview, I was offered a 40-hour position which I didn’t expect. And I got to choose my position. I feel good, and I enjoy it.
	Ricardo Vital Sales Associate at Express In this job for one year and four months First Source helped me find a job, write a resume, practice interview skills, and coach me through the job application process.
	Ram Shrestha Sales Associate-Cashier at Whole Foods Market In this job for one year and seven months The people are so helpful at SCC. They motivated me to make a proper resume and provided interview preparation and information on how to handle critical situations. They gave me ideas about how to do internet-based job search, and offered information about the job market. I also just got confidence and motivation, and I learned a lot.