Greenheart’s International Job Fair Attendees Volunteer at the Hagar de Ancianos de Cristo Rey (Elderly Nursing Home) in the Dominican Republic
Recently, Greenheart hosted a very successful international job fair in the Dominican Republic. Afterwards, as part of our long tradition of giving back, Greenheart staff, representatives from host organizations, and our Dominican Republic sending partner, OFIT, volunteered at a local home for the elderly, Hagar de Ancianos de Cristo Rey.
Greenheart’s Katheen Mears, in Employer Relations, describes how the Job Fair helped identify opportunities for networking with an international community while strengthening ties and collaboration with existing host organizations. Kathleen also shares the excellent qualities of the applicants she interviewed. All applicants were pre-screened and prepared for in-person interviews with their potential host organizations. They were all happy and excited to take part in the Job Fair. Read on to learn more from Kathleen:
“On December 3rd, Greenheart Exchange Work and Travel Department traveled to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with 15 Host Employers and 5 Greenheart staff to attend an international Job Fair. Greenheart’s international partner OFIT hosted the Job Fair at the Hotel Real Intercontinental. OFIT and Greenheart Exchange facilitated more than 500 Summer Work Travel participants who had the opportunity to be interviewed by Greenheart’s amazing host employers. This was a very productive job fair and one of the largest to date. We received some wonderful testimonials:
Host employer Stephanie Kennedy with Albertsons in Alaska said, “it’s been amazing, the connections I have made, the support from the Greenheart staff has been far beyond what I had thought it would be. The OFIT group has been so welcoming! The job fair was awesome, I interviewed candidates and hired every one of them. The candidates were excellent, the quality of their skills beyond my expectations. I would recommend Greenheart and OFIT to anyone.“
Another employer told me, “This is my third time attending a job fair with OFIT. Each year I am impressed by the level of organization with the event, everything runs so smoothly, and the hosts are helpful, communicative, and caring. One of the things that has me most excited each year to attend the event is the participants selected to interview for our job openings. They are always prepared and friendly, their English level is very important in my organization, and they always meet our expectations. OFIT creates a wonderful experience of Dominican culture while we are in country, that I am thrilled to be able to attend each year.”
Following the job fair, the group volunteered at the Hagar de Ancianos de Cristo Rey (Elderly Nursing Home). The host employers and Greenheart staff (with help from the nuns who run the nursing home) made crafts and a donation supporting the care of the elderly.
OFIT hosted wonderful dinners in the evening sharing their culture and food. OFIT also took the group on a cultural excursion traveling to Juan Dolio Beach for a lovely lunch and enjoying the Caribbean sun and sand.
Thank you, Kathleen, for sharing this with us! A big thank you to Greenheart staff, our host organizations who attended, and our sending partner, OFIT, who facilitated such an amazing and well-organized job fair for our international participants. We are also grateful to Hagar de Ancianos de Cristo Rey for granting our group the opportunity to give back and make a difference!
If you are a business who would like to host international seasonal staff for a cultural exchange, please visit HirewithGreenheart.org to learn more.
To learn more about Greenheart’s Work and Travel program visit GreenheartExchange.org.