Most companies talk about values; many have their core values listed on their websites. However, we at ChaDa have found the overwhelming majority of these values statements to be obviously written by marketing professionals, and so vague and amorphous as to be meaningless. Indeed, most employees are hard pressed to state their company’s values.

Rather than following this trend, ChaDa prefers to speak through our actions. To this end, we have incorporated the “Veterans Assistance”, “Youth At Risk”, and “Second Chance” programs into our corporate culture. Each is designed to help break a negative cycle for those less fortunate in our society. Reward without sacrifice, employment without opportunity, and education without knowledge are all doomed to perpetuate negative cycles of behavior. The three training programs set forth below are designed to address these issues head-on.

The Veterans Assistance Program

In this time of military conflict it is critical to have a support infrastructure in place for our service men and women when they return to civilian life. Many have lost jobs, have been injured, and face a daunting and hard future when they return. It is up to our businesses, our communities, and our religious organizations to insure that we do everything that we can to provide a bright future to these brave men and women. The Veterans Assistance Program is intended to provide our returning soldiers with career opportunities. The goals of this program are:

• To provide career building opportunities for returning veterans, especially disabled veterans, allowing them to be self-sufficient.
• Not to give jobs, but to foster careers.

If you would like more information or would like to join or Veterans Assistance Program, contact us at veterans assistance@chadcorp.com

The Youth At Risk Program

ChaDa is committed to working with businesses, government officials, community leaders, and religious organizations of all denominations to build a network of opportunity for the at risk youths in this country. The goals of this program are:

• Not to give jobs, but to foster careers.
• To provide options and opportunities through knowledge, training, and education.
• To teach our youth to accept responsibility and act responsibly.
• To teach our youth to respect and work with people of all ethnic backgrounds, and not to judge everyone by the actions of a few.
• To commit to the right path, as this will be the easier path in the long run.
• To set, manage, and work towards high goals, not just those that are easy to reach.
• To see the value in themselves, and believe that they can achieve their goals.
• To strive to break their negative life cycles.

If you would like more information or would like to join or Youth At Risk program, contact us at youthatrisk@chadacorp.com

The Second Chance Program

Many disadvantaged youths and young adults have found themselves on the wrong side of our judicial system. Our correctional system is such that these individuals are often not provided with sufficient training or education while incarcerated to be able to find good jobs upon their release. Without opportunity, these individuals often return to a life of crime, creating not only a social issue, but a negative impact on our economy. 

The Second Chance Program is designed to provide the opportunity to escape the pattern by providing nonviolent qualified people with an opportunity to change their lives. It asks employers to set aside prejudices and offer a chance for a true fresh start. The goals of this program are:

• To provide opportunities that allow the participants a real chance of reintegrating into American society though training and education.
• Not to give jobs, but to foster careers.
• To teach our second chance participants to feel proud of what that are doing, and not be ruled by their past mistakes.
• To commit to the right path, as this will be the easy path in the long run.
• To set, manage, and work towards high goals, not just the ones easy to reach.
• To see the value in themselves, and believe that they can achieve their goals. To strive to break the pattern of incarceration and failure.

This program requires a commitment from our members on both sides. It is often difficult not to judge or feel that you are being judged. It is critical that our members work to insure this atmosphere is not present.

If you would like more information or would like to join our Second Chance Program, contact us at secondchance@chadacorp.com

Participation Requirements

ChaDa understands that the government cannot solve these problems alone. It will require the participation of all segments of our society, and the driving force must be the private sector. ChaDa is interested in success and actually making a difference. For us it is not about the quantity of the people in the program, but the results of the effort. We would rather truly help a few, then process many.

Because of this desire, we have established requirements for participation for both the people seeking assistance, and the organizations and business seeking to offer assistance. In brief:

Those seeking assistance

The Veteran Assistance program:

• You must be or have been a Veteran serving on active duty during times of conflict.
• You must have been discharged from active duty within one year prior to your request to enter the program.
• If you are currently on active duty, you must apply within three (3) months of discharge.

The Youth At Risk program:

• You must be of legal working age for the state in which you reside.
• You must be from an economically depressed area.
• You must sign a contract setting forth both performance requirements and personal responsibility.
• You must be participate in all training or educational opportunities available.
• Prior to entering the program you must end any association with, or participation in, any gangs or groups whose activities include any violation(s) of the law.
• You must dress and present yourself appropriately for the position provided.
• You must not violate any laws (outside minor traffic, or other misdemeanors) of the state or federal legal codes.
• You must abide by the code of conduct, and performance requirements established by the organization for which you are working.

The Second Chance program:

• You must apply within six (6) months of your release from incarceration.
• You must be in compliance with the terms of your parole or release.
• You must agree to submit to random drug testing by your employer. 
• You must agree to random home visits by the program administrator.
• You must sign a contract setting forth both performance requirements and personal responsibility.
• You must participate in all training or educational opportunities available.
• You must end any association with, or participation in, any gangs or groups whose activities include any violation of the law.
• You must dress and present yourself appropriately for the position provided.
• You must not violate any laws (outside minor traffic, or other misdemeanors) of the state or federal legal codes.
• You must abide by the code of conduct, and performance requirements established by the organization for which you are working.

Those seeking to assist

It is critical that those organizations and business seeking to assist in these programs understand the necessity of building an environment necessary for success. Our experience has shown that companies and/or organizations that participate purely for economic benefit (i.e. tax relief) cause more harm than good. Unless the assisting party establishes an atmosphere conducive to long term participant success, the result is to further alienate and enforce the negative patterns. The assisting parties must be willing to:

• Establish formal policies and procedures for the program.
• Provide employee training and educational opportunities.
• Insure that other employees and management treat the participates with respect and dignity.
• Provide career guidance and counseling.