WEST HARTFORD – In the face of dwindling donations and devalued investments, the state’s only job bank for seniors might close within two weeks.
That’s because private donations and grants, about 80 percent of the free referral service’s budget, have plummeted in the last two years. In addition, the job bank’s investments have been impacted during the recession, according to news reports.
“Our mutual funds lost nearly half their value, and we don’t know if we have the funds to continue,” said Ed Dombroskas, executive director of the job bank.” At this point, it looks like there’s going be an interruption in our program.”
Since 1974, the nonprofit Seniors Job Bank has helped link people 55 and over to corporate jobs in Greater Hartford, or referred individuals to area residents who needed home services.
Dombroskas said the job bank is hoping to raise at least $75,000 to keep a few programs and the staff a while longer.
In the last several years, job referrals decreased; some clients switched to other sources, mostly on the internet, to find jobs. The job bank developed a niche market that referred clients to home services such as landscapers, drivers and home companions for the elderly.