FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT
Katherine Moore
(323) 761-8888 x8904

JVS TO HOST 6TH ANNUAL STRICTLY BUSINESS LUNCHEON
MAY 14TH AT BEVERLY HILTON HOTEL

Business Partnerships and Successful Programs Assisting At Risk Youth,
People with Disabilities and Welfare-to-Work to be Highlighted

Featured Speakers Richard S. Ziman and Daphna Edwards Ziman
Wells Fargo to be Honored as Corporate Citizen of the Year

Los Angeles, May 7, 2003 - The 6th Annual Strictly Business Luncheon, hosted by LA-based non-profit JVS, will highlight partnerships with the local business community and honor clients who have turned to the agency for help in overcoming personal barriers and substantial odds to find success in a job market where more than 300,000 people are out of work.

The luncheon program will feature remarks by Richard S. Ziman and Daphna Edwards Ziman. Mr. Ziman is Chairman and CEO of Arden Realty, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange real estate investment company with a total market capitalization of nearly $3 billion. A noted philanthropist, he has held numerous leadership positions with local social, cultural and academic organizations, from City of Hope to the Music Center to the Ziman Center for Real Estate at The Anderson School at UCLA. Daphna Edwards Ziman is a writer/director and founder of Children Uniting Nations, an international children's rights organization.

"Last year, JVS helped more than 14,000 people in greater Los Angeles, " said agency CEO Vivian B. Seigel, "a staggering 60% increase over the previous year. We also saw a trend in terms of the vastly increased number of seasoned professionals and recent graduates struggling to survive the economic downturn and turning to us for help in seeking work. Concurrently, we assisted more than 1,500 local and national businesses with their employment and hiring needs."

JVS' Strictly Business 2003 will recognize Wells Fargo as Corporate Citizen of the Year, in acknowledgement of their substantial support of the agency. "I can't remember a time," said Wells Fargo Regional President Shelley Freeman, "when the gap between what the government and the private sector can do has been so wide, and it's at times like this that organizations like Wells Fargo and other big companies in Los Angeles, need to step up and aid the agencies that make LA a better place for all of us to live."

This year, JVS will honor the achievements of agency clients Rebekah Brod and Brett Lippel as Employees of the Year and Jennifer Zacarias as Student Employee of the Year. Rebekah Brod was enjoying a successful career when a devastating disease forced her to change directions and led her to JVS' Department of Rehabilitation Services. Lippel, an executive with years of management experience, found himself back on the job market and utilized JVS' customized Career Services - specifically designed to serve the white collar professional - to get his job search on track. Jennifer Zacarias was a twelfth grade student at Belmont High School when she faced a personal crisis and turned for help to JVS' Career Ladders for Youth Program.

JVS will also recognize the graduates of the agency's innovative Certified Nurse Assistant Program, which trains long-term welfare recipients for careers in the health care industry. From the day they begin the program, trainees receive a salary and full benefits, along with on-the-job training, ESL classes, and extensive follow-up services to smooth the transition from public assistance, placing them on the first step of a career ladder in health care. Over 95% of the graduates pass the license exam and are guaranteed a permanent job. The personal stories of the honorees will be presented in a short video presentation, produced by Brakefield Productions.

Broadcast journalist Jim Moret, currently onscreen in Christopher Guest's "A Mighty Wind," is Master of Ceremonies. Business-to-Business Networking Reception begins at 11:15, with luncheon to follow. Tickets are $75 per person. For more information, please call (323) 761-8888 x8895 or email strictlybusiness@jvsla.org.

Founded in 1931, JVS, a non-profit, non-sectarian organization, offers a wide range of vocational and human resource services to individuals and businesses throughout greater Los Angeles. In addition, JVS offers mentoring and career programs for women in transition, welfare recipients, at-risk youth, refugees and immigrants and people with disabilities. For more information about JVS, visit us on the web @ www.jvsla.org.

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