Coming Together as a Community
Our community and surrounding area have an incredible number of invested partners that come together for the greater good, especially when it comes to employment opportunities for our residents.
Despite the challenges of recent times due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the goal of providing resources for those seeking employment continues. Back on May 5, the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development and other partners in the 25-agency EmployLNK network did something they had never done before. They held a Drive Through Career Fair for individuals seeking employment and companies that were and are continuing to look to hire.
Ultimately, 52 different employers attached their information in one-page flyers which were then distributed to around 500 people who drove through and participated. Fields such as manufacturing, office, construction, healthcare, and others were represented among those 52 employers with part-time work to full time work and managerial levels all among the job openings.
The process was simple and safe, as attendees drove up to the parking lot east of Olive Garden at 63rd and O streets and grabbed their packet of information. I want to give a big thank you to Gateway Mall for helping make this happen—this is possible because of their willingness to help the community and help provide a needed service. Our partners across the community helped make this event not only a reality, but an unprecedented success. We are in the planning stages for another event in either June or July, so stay tuned for more details.
As we start to chart the path forward, we must continue to adhere to guidelines that keep us healthy and safe. The Lincoln Chamber of Commerce remains in contact with our business leaders at the local, state, and national levels to determine the best practices and recommendations to reopen and return to work.
Part of that guidance comes from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has implemented its “Path Forward” program to help direct chambers and businesses determine how best to proceed. The efforts to bring millions of people back to work comes with numerous questions and uncertainties. Despite these complicated questions, the goal is help make the return to work safe, successful, and sustainable as the impacts from the pandemic will continue for the months and even years to come.
One of the hardest hit areas is our tourism and hospitality industries. Events and gatherings across the world have had to be postponed or canceled, with a huge hit to the bottom line locally, regionally, nationally, and worldwide. The motto of the Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau has been “Don’t Cancel. Postpone” as we look to bring events back later this year and into 2021. Group tour operators and our other travel partners have communicated their interest in keeping Lincoln as a destination, and we are hopeful to make up for what has been a challenging last couple of months for our attractions, hotels, restaurants, and other tourism and hospitality partners.
Despite our ongoing challenges, we see signs of hope and a community that has banded together to conquer these unique circumstances. Let us use that spirit of cooperation to bring health, safety, and prosperity to our short-term and long-term futures in Lincoln.
The Chamber’s mission is to improve the lives of Lincoln residents by providing increased economic opportunity and can only be accomplished together. For more information on the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, (www.lcoc.com) please contact Jaime Henning at jaimehenning@lcoc.com.