1980 - 1984 Joint Action in Community Service (JACS)

 

I was a little apprehensive about coming back to California after nine years (six overseas and three in Washington, D.C.) following my Peace Corps service as a volunteer and staff.  I recall that I answered an Ad for a Regional Director position for a private non-profit organization called Joint Action in Community Service (JACS).  I remember meeting George Spellman, the Executive Director who coincedentaly was a former Peace Corps staffer and ended up getting the job and it just so happened that he was looking for a Regional Director for the Western U.S. covering California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii.  As it turned out I was in the right place at the right time. I couldn’t have asked for a better job to transition back to the States, especially working with volunteers again and in a social services agency. I also achieved my dream of residing in San Francisco high on a hill (one of the steepest in San Francisco) oververlooking the city on 21st street in Noe Valley.

JACS was a national human service organization of community volunteers helping at-risk youth enter the workforce and become self-reliant adults.  Local JACS Volunteers contact young adults when they return home from Job Corps - a federally funded vocational and educational program.  Job Corps was started in 1964 as part of President Johnson’s War on Poverty to address the needs of low-income 16 to 24-year olds to gain a skill and become employed.  There were 122 Job Corps centers in 48 states nationwide training 60,000 youth annually.  JACS was started  in 1969 and had 2,400 volunteers throughout the country to help graduates of Job Corps find jobs and begin careers.  JACS had an annual budget of about $4 million, 98 percent of which came from its single Labor Department contract for Job Corps support services.  

My job as Regional Director was to manage the program and oversee the recruitment of JACS volunteers in my region consisting of California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii.  There were four Job Corps Centers in the Region:  Los Angeles, Reno, Phoenix and Hawaii.  My office was in the Federal Building in San Francisco and I had four staff assist me. Our mission was to travel the region conducting outreach to various businesses and community organizations not only to recruit volunteers but to identify resources for providing assistance to Job Corps graduates in job search, further training and counselling.  Through these outreach calls, JACS Volunteers offer support and provide information about community resources that can help the youth meet their current needs for example with job search, continued education or training.  I made a lot of contacts, particularly with the business community and service organizations.  For example, in Los Angeles Rockwell corporation was a big supporter, rotary and Kiwanis clubs, and were also a good resource.

Regional Staff, Coordinators and       

                 Volunteers were Advisors                                                                  

Anne McMillan, Sue Gartley, Bill Galloway
Bob Welch, Marlene Suggs and Myself

     
              Personal Assistance Report 

               Completed by Volunteers

We published a quarterly Newsletter

LA Volunteer Coordinators Arlene
and Dillard Northcutt

               Activities like a Job Fair                          

 
                    Corpsmen and Counsellors

                                                                                         

Job Interview

                   Volunteer of the Year

Rafer Johnson was on the Board of JACS  

        

            Monty Stickles and Nate Thurmond at the                                                                                                              Elks Club San Francisco

         

Speaking engagement at the Kiwanis Club

           
             A nice bonus from JACS Executive VP

One of the Highlights of 1984 was volunteering at the Democratic convention that was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco in July 16-19.  Besides working the podium staff my main job was driving the convention staff to and from their respective hotels to the convention center.  It really paid off since I knew my way around the city pretty well.

  

             Passes to Convention                             Letter of Appreciation from
                                                                                                       Convention Chair                                

      

                   Letter of Appreciation from                              Letter of Appreciation from

                            Gordon Wynne                                                      Richard Davis

            

  Letter of Appreciation from Tim Davis                                  List of Convention Staff

One of the benefits of working the convention was to meet former democratic presidents.  It was serendipitous, but I was able to get a photo op with former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalind.

I also met Bill Clinton but didn't get a photo.  All he wanted was to know where the camera was so he could be filmed at the convention.