The Truman Charities Podcast
Truman Charities is the only podcast that donates $250 to each of our guests' charity of choice.
Jamie Truman, connects with individuals who are making a significant impact in their communities. From New York Times bestselling authors to innovative farmers, we share the untold stories of those who are shaping the world around us. We feature trailblazers, influencers, and innovators who are driving positive change, such as the lawyer who fought Dupont for two decades to protect our water and the vital work of an organization dedicated to supporting women who have been trafficked within the United States.
Jamie Truman is the co-founder of Truman Charities, an entirely volunteer-run organization. Since its inception in 2010, Truman Charities has successfully raised over $2 million for a variety of charitable causes.
In addition to her work with Truman Charities, Jamie is also the author of the bestselling book "Vanishing Fathers: The Ripple Effect on Tomorrow's Generation." This book has generated over $80,000 for charities supporting at-risk youth, as 100% of the book's proceeds are donated to these vital organizations.
The Truman Charities Podcast
Employment Barriers and Second Chances with Crossroads Jobs Nonprofit | Scott German Ep. 160
The job market looks very different when survival is part of the equation. For many people in Loudoun County, finding work isn’t just about their resume. It's about overcoming a lack of transportation, housing instability, and language barriers.
Nonprofits like Crossroads Jobs address these challenges to give people who are unemployed or underemployed the chance to rebuild their lives. In this episode, Scott German shares how their hands-on approach connects people with the right employers, builds confidence through coaching, and provides the resources they need to get hired and stay hired.
Learn how you can support Crossroads Jobs, join their community of support, and help open more doors to steady work!
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Email: info@trumancharities.com
This episode was post produced by Podcast Boutique https://podcastboutique.com/
What if finding a job wasn't just about a paycheck, but about rebuilding your life, your confidence, and your hope? On this episode of the Truman Charities Podcast, we sit down with Scott German, for chair of Crossroads Jobs, a nonprofit helping people in Loudoun County overcome real barriers to employment, from language and transportation challenges to rebuilding after homelessness. Crossroads jobs is giving people more than work. They're giving them dignity and a second chance. You'll hear inspiring stories of transformation, how local businesses are stepping up, and what true community support really looks like. But before we speak with Scott, please take a moment to rate and review this podcast. We are a hundred percent volunteer-based organization, and writing a short review really does help our podcast grow. All right. Now it's time for us to now welcome Scott to Truman Charities. I wanted to know how did you personally get involved with crossroads jobs?
SPEAKER_00:It's kind of a weird long route, and I'll be quick about it. You know, I started working when I was 15 years old, and throughout my career, I've had relative ease and finding opportunities. But as I my career advanced, I got into more management. I started seeing ways that people had to get to work or find work. And I guess it was just kind of a seed being planted about what obstacles there may be. Fast forward, you know, 15, 20 years, and I was made aware of crossroads jobs probably in the mid-teens, right? 13, 14. They'd been around since 2012. And at that time, you know, a couple of years after the fact, they asked me to join the board, and it just wasn't the right time for me. Fast forward a couple more years. I just cycled off another board, was looking for an opportunity. I'd met the executive director, Carol Smith, through various networking opportunities. And then it was the right time about three years ago. So that's kind of how I, I don't say fell into it, but you know, the ability of what they do and kind of my background kind of felt like it was a good marriage for me to kind of volunteer and be part of that organization.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So I want to get into how you guys are exactly helping people in Lounge County, but first tell us a little bit about Crossroads Jobs, how it was founded, and what motivated its creation.
SPEAKER_00:So Crossroads Jobs was founded in 2012 by Carol Smith, my current executive director. It's mirrored kind of after an organization based, I think it was in DC, that does similar things. It's a workforce development type of situation. And, you know, her Carol living out here in Loudoun County, she thought that'd be a good opportunity to form a 501c3. There's more of a pet project, a passion. It just kind of came what it is. And what it does basically is it offers, you know, I'll go by the mission as well. It basically offers free individualized job placement and career development for members of Loudoun County and their residents that who are unemployed or underemployed and face barriers to employment. So what that simply means is if you have a language barrier, transportation barrier, financial barrier, whatever the cases may be. And again, this goes back to my background about me relatively easy to find jobs. These individuals don't have the ease that I was lucky enough to have growing up. So we kind of give them a helping hand toward finding employment that they may one not have access to, knowledge of, or ability to apply properly and just kind of help them kind of step up.
SPEAKER_01:Tell me a little bit about the need in Loudoun County.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think people think of Loudoun County, Fairfax, Northern Virginia as a very affluent community. And there is a lot of affluence here, don't get me wrong. But the kind of hidden secret nobody really talks about is the financial, and we hear about affordable housing a lot, still trying to figure out how that's going to work out. But the people, the individuals that kind of need those things, isn't really front and center the way we believe it probably should be, or at least more front and center. They don't get to kind of sweep it on the rug. It's like, okay, well, there's the organizations, they can kind of help them. It's not really one of those things that's really talked about the way a homeless problem would be, say, in Los Angeles or a bigger inner city. But there definitely is a need with homeless people, with those who are underserved, low to middle income. Those individuals are definitely needed and they're definitely part of our community. And that's what we try and focus on.
SPEAKER_01:So tell me a little bit about so you serve both job seekers and employers. And how do you build relationships with local businesses? And how do you kind of match up the right person for the right job, is as you quoted on the website.
SPEAKER_00:So we basically individuals discover us through various ways, right? Either through local shelters or through church organizations or through other nonprofits and people like the chamber. So they find us and they go through a long, I want to say long, it's 45 minutes to an hour kind of application process with us, right? And we ask them a lot of questions that probably aren't really HR friendly. And we do it in strict confidence, but we do it so we really get to know our clients. We don't just want to get to know, and this is kind of our kind of our tagline is we get to know the person at the resume. We really want to know what they can do, what their challenges are, what their skill sets are, what their obstacles may be. And we put them through this kind of 45 minute to an hour kind of QA internally, right? And once they are accepted as an applicant, they have to go through another one-day workshop to kind of hone those skills around the interview process. As far as organizations go that utilize our services, the businesses, again, a lot of it's word of mouth. There really isn't a whole lot of outbound efforts, at least not recently, to try and find other organizations to utilize us. You know, some people just know people to know people. Others might hear about us again to various organizations. Others, once we have one success, they might refer us over to another business that maybe has a similar need and we get kind of onboarded that way. But we interview them as well. We're not just sending applicants to a posting on a job site. We're actually knowing what the companies do and what their needs are and what the actual job positions are. So it really try and makes a really good match versus just, hey, here's a position, go check it out and let us know how it goes.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's a real kind of matchmaking service that you guys have. So tell me a little bit about some of the standout success stories of individuals that you've worked with that maybe had to overcome some strong barriers and was able to find some stable employment.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So the one that's kind of most recent for me kind of stands out is a gentleman, you know, he's in his early 50s. He was an applicant who currently was living in his car and he was referred to us by the county shelter, right? Utilizing services like the drop-in for shower, laundry, things like that. Uh, there weren't any beds available at the time, so he was living out of his car. In addition to factory work, you know, he had about 15 years experience working in grocery stores. He met one of our job counselors about two days later, you know, he's got resumes ready to go. We started sending him out on particular opportunities. And after several interviews over the next couple of months, he received offers from both Sam's Club and Costco. One thing organization did as well is we helped him obtain some clothing and shoes for the interview process. So he wasn't walking in and clothes he's been living in in his car for the last several months. So through the shelter, he qualified for rapid rehousing. You know, program provides financial assistance and security for these individuals, along with initial rent payments. And then with between the rent and he's got a few paychecks now from Costco, he's back on his feet and ready to go. So, I mean, that's just one example. And there are a lot of them like that, where they're just kind of hit a bad time and they just need to kind of regroup and repivot and refocus. And that's kind of what we do. And that's a really great example of an opportunity. Not only do we offer them kind of knowledge about how to interview properly, what the job skill might entail, but if they need other things besides, you know, something more physical, clothes, transportation, you know, a bus pass, whatever the case may be, those are other things that we supply in limited quantities to help them kind of get them over the edge.
SPEAKER_01:That is really great that you're able to help prepare them for job interviews and then make sure that they're have the correct clothes and they're able to get in transportation to get to these interviews. And tell me a little bit about what are the kind of different types of jobs that you're able to place these individuals in.
SPEAKER_00:A lot of them would be hourly wage. And again, that's one thing maybe we talk about later is how we want to kind of evolve and develop and progress over time. So that's more of a thing we can talk about as a down line. But currently, most of our jobs, I would say, primarily are of the hourly wage scenario, right? Where it's entry-level. Although we do have some applicants that are well qualified, but unfortunately, degrees are from other countries. So as you know, they don't translate to what their operations are here, or they're a veteran, things like that. Those are kind of more on the limited side. Usually for us, it's low middle income. It's English as a second language, barriers like that where entry-level positions at more retail type establishments are the lion's share of what we fill. But there are certainly things like Loudoun County government and Loudoun County and Fairfax Public Schools. Those are some other positions that we have filled, organizations we fill positions in as well. So it's not just your Home Depots and your Costco's and your giants of the world. There are a little more level up opportunities for these individuals as well, based on their based on their qualifications.
SPEAKER_01:Mm-hmm. What about crossroads jobs in the future? How do you guys see yourselves in the next, you know, five to 10 years? What are some of your goals?
SPEAKER_00:So, just for background, too. I was recently promoted to board chair after a nice, successful run from our old board chair, John Tat. It's kind of a couple of different directions. I'm bringing my commercial experience into the nonprofit world because I'll think of it like more like a business than a nonprofit. So, you know, one sustainability, right? Every nonprofit of the needs are time and money. So, how do we find a way, not have to struggle each and every quarter to make sure our expenses are met? So finding more sustainability and longevity within the organization is something I'm working on. We want to expand outside of Loudon County. We've done a great job for the community we live in. Could we do more for surrounding communities as well? Whether it be more Western Loudon, because right now a lot of our stuff is, I would say, Leesburg East. But can we go more Western Loudon, North Fairfax or Prince William, and really kind of expand the organization in that way? Again, that's a very down the road kind of goal for us. Expanding staff. I mean, we have a great mix of volunteers and part-time people. The challenge we have as a very small kind of a sleepy nonprofit is finding somebody maybe on the full-time level who would require benefits. And again, with the current environment around benefits and healthcare and all the things that are going on, you can imagine that's a challenge for us to keep good qualified people without being able to help them out on the benefit side. So trying to find more sustainability with employees that can offer them benefits outside of just, you know, decent hourly wage and 40 hours a week. So that's something we're trying to do. And then again, the last thing I think, I think most important for me as the business guy is establishing a stronger corporate partnership for sustainability reasons, right? We supply these individuals for these companies. And disappointingly, I will say that a lot of that is not really reciprocal in the support that they provide to us. And that's what I want to kind of change a little bit to make that more, again, around the sustainability and the increased financial viability that I think an organization would need to sustain long term.
SPEAKER_01:So can you walk me through the process for someone looking for job placement and they're having a hard time? During this workshop, this one-day workshop, what do you think tends to come up the most as being the biggest barrier?
SPEAKER_00:I would say that language will be one and confidence in presenting themselves on their own. Because we don't go with them on the interviews, we don't hold their hand. We aren't there to maybe help translate. So if they're having challenges or lack of confidence in language, and from somebody I know who's trying to learn Spanish, confidence in speaking is the hardest thing for me, but I can read it, I can see it, I can spell it. But you ask me to say it, I may not be confident in what I do. The reverse would go for that. Whatever language that they speak, whether it's Spanish or whether it's, you know, German or whatever the case may be, I think kind of having confidence in presenting themselves in a way that looks attractive to an employer, would probably be one of the biggest things. I think you have other situations. I don't think you know, transportation is a big deal. Can they get to and from this job consistently? And I'm sure that's a worry more in the back of their mind than maybe what they present to an employer. You know, will they make enough money at this particular role? I mean, those are probably things that are probably more hidden, but I would say the biggest barrier, I think, would be the communication process. Can they speak well enough in a way that makes them more attractive to those employers?
SPEAKER_01:So then how are you guys able to help them through that during this one day, one-day workshop?
SPEAKER_00:Well, we would try and do primarily, again, mostly for English and Spanish. The other languages could be a little challenging, and maybe we would have to find somebody to help with you know interpretation if that's what's needed. But you know, we would try to line them up with a job that was, you know, they would have somebody on site that could speak the language, if in fact, in this day and age, I mean, most organizations have Spanish-speaking individuals or bilingual individuals that can do both. So even though that might be like their biggest barrier to them, getting in front of somebody that speaks their language fluently certainly helps ease that anxiety they have during the interview process. So that's probably the biggest, you know, we won't send somebody to an organization that has nobody who's Spanish speaking, expect them to be fluent English and present really well. We would hope we'll be able to find somebody that could speak their language and really have a communication that make them a better opportunity.
SPEAKER_01:So people that are listening to this podcast and they want to help, what is the best way to help your organization?
SPEAKER_00:Well, I think like any nonprofit would tell you the thing all profits need is time and money, right? That's always going to be the case, right? Volunteers, people who want to help the organization either monetarily or through hours worked. Those are the two biggest things. We talked about two.
SPEAKER_01:Well, what type of volunteer work do you guys look for?
SPEAKER_00:Well, you know, having job counselors, right? People who are experienced in the workforce that want to give some hours back and help develop these individuals for opportunities is one. Board service is always the way it is. I mean, right now we're a working board, we're a working board of roughly seven people. We've had some new onboardings lately, but ideally, as me as board chair, we'd like to see the number be closer to 11 to 13. And with some variety in professional levels, right? So right now we have a banker and a CPA. That's great. Maybe an attorney, maybe a marketing person, maybe these things to help us. Because again, I'm a big fan of marketing in general, right? I love LinkedIn, I love presenting opportunities online, but there's only so much bandwidth to go around. So volunteers to help with board service in a specific, a professional vertical that could help us again spread the word and develop our organization.
SPEAKER_01:So on your website, you guys state that you want jobs, dignity, and hope. So, what does dignity through employment mean to you?
SPEAKER_00:Again, a lot of the individuals we deal with are very proud people, right? They don't want the handout. They want the hand up. I know that's a phrase that's been used quite a bit. Pride in paying your own bills, pride in being able to take care of your family, pride in being able to just be a viable part of the community is something that I would say the reliance share of our applicants want for themselves. They just want to be able to pull their own weight and do their own. And that's because that's the way they were brought up. That's the success they had in their other countries, or the success they had earlier in life. And they just see being a viable contributing member to our society as it's invaluable in and of itself. And being able to do that through financial independence really just is the primary goal for 95% of the people that we help, you know, just keeping themselves above water.
SPEAKER_01:So, Scott, before I let you go, is there anything that we haven't covered that you think people should know?
SPEAKER_00:Oh, that's a really good question, too. I feel like we need to hold on the podcast for that. It's again, Kayla's done a wonderful job for a number of years, but it's been a very sleepy, little, nice little niche nonprofit, you know, kind of based in Leesburg. And though we've helped a ton of people, I feel like we've only scratched the surface. I think, again, part of my role and my love for exposure and social media and things along those lines, then yes, we're starting to slowly incrementally get more of a footprint within Loudoun. But I look at some of the other bigger nonprofits that are consistently, you know, on people's radar throughout the area, I would like to selfishly get crossroads to that level. So we're competing with the bigger nonprofits where we have a permanent space, where we have a paid staff, where we have a well-oiled machine within the organization that could help more people and again, ultimately expand that out. So while some people think of us as a nice little organization, that's great. We kind of are. I don't want it to stay that way. I want it to be a better, bigger, able to help more people, kind of expand the opportunities for those who can do more.
SPEAKER_01:I did want to ask you before I forget and let you go, has AI had any impact on the job market for any of the individuals that you guys are working with?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's it's kind of fun. You wouldn't think, again, based on the way I describe the jobs they're applying for.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But there's two things. One, we do to a certain level encourage AI for resume building, right? If they haven't used it before as a tool. But on the flip side of that, we've also cautioned them that you know, a lot of HR companies now, a lot of HR departments now use AI to kick out resumes that are solely AI generated, right? So there's a catch-22 there. So we do encourage that while you can use AI as a tool to maybe build a framework of your resume. We certainly want you to go back, put eyes on it, add your own little personal spins on it. So it doesn't come across as a completely AI generated resume. So that's probably the biggest day to day encounter that we have. We like using AI. We think it's part. You know, I'm certainly learning a lot more about AI almost every day. We want them to use it, but only as a piece of the puzzle, not the entire thing. And understand that if they use it for the entire resume, Process more times than nothing can be kicked out of the system because it is so AI focused, OAI-centric. So that is probably the biggest thing is helping them get to that level, but not going too far where they get kicked out because they've used it too much.
SPEAKER_01:Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I know. I was, I was thinking, I was talking to my husband actually the other day, and I was like, AI is really taking kind of over everything. So it's everything, but you can tell when I get emails and things like that if it's all AI generated.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, from somebody who works in business development, right? I do a lot of, again, I use it for the framework, but I go over everything and just kind of redo it in a way that sounds more personable versus hey, I just kick this out and let it go.
SPEAKER_01:Yep. Very true. Okay. So tell us how people can follow your organization.
SPEAKER_00:So we currently just have LinkedIn and Facebook. Uh, they can follow us on those two pages. Our website is crossroadsjobs.org. That's kind of the limit of things that we can do. Again, no bandwidth for others like Instagram or TikTok. Again, we'd love to do more of that, but the bandwidth right now currently just limits that. I'm pretty much the central piece for LinkedIn. So a lot of the posts you'll see on there are created by myself. And Carol does a lot of the Facebook side. But again, we talked about volunteers and specific verticals like marketing, things like that. You know, we're working with Carrie Schram and Accelerator Visions and trying to find ways to be more streamlined internally from a lot of our systems because we're fragmented in a database for our donors and database for our corporate partners and a database for virtually everything. We just have so many things. We're kind of streamlining, we're trying to streamline that too, to have kind of a process and marketing is a part of that. So great.
SPEAKER_01:Well, thank you so much, Scott, for coming on and speaking with us. And I want to thank everyone for tuning in to another episode of the Truman Charities Podcast. I really did find this conversation with Scott very interesting and eye-opening about the real need that there is in Loudoun County. And as I had mentioned before, if you'd like to support the Truman Charities podcast, we are a hundred percent volunteer-based organization. So the reviews really do count. So please make sure to take a few moments to rate and review our podcast. And then if you'd like to follow us, you can follow us on Facebook at Truman Charities, Instagram at Jamie underscore Truman Charities. You can follow me on LinkedIn at Jamie Truman. And then so you don't miss any of our future events coming up or Bethesda's best happy hours, go into Truman Charities.com and sign up for a newsletter. Thanks again for tuning in to another episode of the Truman Charities podcast. Until next time.
