ParentJobNet, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded in 2004 by Pat Craddick, a Wall Street professional.  In the wake of 9/11, Pat felt the financial strain of corporate downsizing. As a mother new to the public school setting, she used this experience as an opportunity to create ParentJobNet to empower public school parents with the job resources they need to build financially stable homes to help their children succeed.

 

Pat saw that the public school setting was the community focal point for parents, many of whom were mothers in need of support and job resources to enable them to enter or reenter the job market. To help them get the necessary tools, she developed ParentJobNet as a school-based nonprofit organization.

 

Started at P.S. 87 in NYC as an internet-based resource linking parents to jobs, ParentJobNet has grown into a school-based community program founded on the premise that strengthening the economic security of parents promotes the wellbeing of their children. Within the first two years of inception, ParentJobNet quickly grew to support 4 districts in Northern Manhattan operating in 26 public schools. Having an impact on over 16,000 families over the years, the organization now focuses on Harlem based public schools and plans to scale its programs across the Tri-State area and beyond. The organization provides parents of school-age children career counseling, job training, job placement, classes in GED/HSE and English literacy, financial planning, computer literacy, entrepreneurship, as well as job fairs, networking events, and other economic resources.

 

Housing our programs and services in public schools helps create a one-stop-shop approach to finding resources, builds community ties, and encourages parents to become more engaged in their children's school lives. ParentJobNet believes that by investing in parents, we strengthen families as well the entire community.

 

All programs and services are offered free of charge to public school parents and caregivers with the generous support of the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, Department of Education, New York Women's Foundation, Consortium for Worker Education, TD Bank Foundation, elected officials, government organizations, CBOs, businesses, individual donors, and the help of our family of generous community supporters.