Although these situations have occurred many times since JobAngels was founded, they still come as a healthy shock to my system. For those of us who have weathered the past few years relatively intact, it’s often difficult to comprehend the magnitude of suffering that still permeates much of our society. And with many now back to work and out of the abyss, it’s convenient to assume that all is well and forgot the tens of millions still left behind. Despite thrusting myself deep into the plight of the unemployed, it often takes a call like this to shake me out of my own complacency to seek actionable solutions on behalf of those less fortunate.

As many of you know, JobAngels was born in January of 2009 from the extremely simplistic premise that each of us can help just one person find a job. There was no flash of brilliance and no divine intervention — this was nothing more than a hopeful belief that the generosity and support of one person could change the life of another.

Despite its humble beginnings on Twitter, it was you who turned JobAngels into a movement. You helped friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, acquaintances and complete strangers. You sent millions of messages, posted jobs, networked, revised resumes, provided a sympathetic ear, opened doors and ultimately gave one another the confidence to succeed. You caught the attention of the world and told your story in print, on television, on the radio and through every social media tool available. You filled auditoriums, churches, synagogues, mosques, schools, stadiums and classrooms to share your job seeking successes and failures. You came from all walks of life and celebrated the diversity that makes this country strong. You toiled through an unprecedented time in modern history and rallied to help one another survive.

I have spoken with so many of you these past few years that your stories have become my own. I’ve suffered in your fear, abandonment and despair but also reveled in your resilience, strength and optimism. And I wish… no, I know that I should have done more to help. Despite what many perceive to be a success I have remained unsatisfied with the work we’ve done. And so it is for the tens of millions of today’s underemployed and unemployed that we now move on to a new phase in our journey together.

For many months now I have sought a new home for our movement, one that carries the goodwill of our mission into a more tangible set of career management services. Core to a successful continuation would be a non-profit with the infrastructure and personnel to truly carry those in need toward the next destination in their own journey. I’m pleased to report that we have found an organization that exceeded all my expectations — Hiring for Hope.

Effective today, JobAngels is now officially part of the Hiring for Hope family. We have a new homepage that will guide you through all the free services that are now available to those in need. And if you’d like to continue to donate your time and expertise, Hiring for Hope welcomes you with open arms through the Voices of Hope Volunteer network. Along with several of the JobAngels volunteer leadership team, I will continue this journey with you as a member of the Hiring for Hope Board of Directors. We’ve also put together this short introductory video to give you a sense of the power and benefits of our newly combined entity:

I am so grateful to each and every one of you for allowing me to meaningfully participate in this movement. It’s important to note that I did not do so alone, so please take a moment to thank the following individuals who played such a key role in the our success:

• The original volunteer leadership team of Mark Cummuta, Deirdre Honner, Charee Klimek and Chris Bailey are some of the most selfless individuals you’ll ever meet. I’ve been so humbled and impressed by their generosity and thoughtfulness and I encourage each and every one of you to thank them directly.
• I’d also like to acknowledge the contributions of Teresa Basich and Shahrzad Arasteh for their LinkedIn and Twitter community management skills. These guardian angels had no idea what they were in for when they offered to jump into our highly vocal social media sites and I cannot thank them enough for their hard work and dedication to the cause.
• As for the individual who truly gave us wings, my thanks to Greg Grigoriou of Van Paul design for donating his time and skills to the creation of the JobAngels logo. Although the colors may have changed his original vision lives on.
• A special thank you to web designer Bill Borque of Zonegig for breathing life into our site. His patience, knowledge and vision for what’s possible helped to extend JobAngels well beyond our preexisting social networking presence.
• Finally, a thank you to the millions who have heard our message and helped one another get back to work. I’m proud to have walked and worked among you.

Please join me in the next phase of our journey by visiting the JobAngels Welcome Page today. Together we can make a difference.

This is the longest time between posts in the history of our little blog. If you’re thinking, “This is an outrage!”, I agree completely. So who is to blame for this travesty, this lapse in judgment, this abandonment of an HR community whose path is asunder without the wisdom and guidance of our Zen-like posts? I want names!!

Victims of the empty RSS feed, I present you with the cause of our radio silence – JobAngels.

What is this JobAngels thing and how did it begin?

Rumor has it that my crackling cornflakes whispered an idea to me on the morning of January 29th. It was apparently hard to decipher over their milk-drowned voices, but eventually I could make out their message – “help people find jobs”. Their whole-grained wisdom spread to the world and all were saved. (End scene) Wow. So inspirational!

The real story is this. I was eating breakfast and thinking about the economy. We were in the throws of a debilitating week of job loss announcements and things looked to be worsening in all sectors. I had been spending a bit of time on Twitter and had accumulated about 700 followers, a large percentage of whom are experts and professionals in the HR sector. So I wondered, what if each of those followers helped just one person find a job? Could we actually make a difference? Here’s the original Tweet:

“Was thinking that if each of us helped just 1 person find a job, we could start making a dent in unemployment. You game?”

Where did the name come from?

The response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. Within several minutes, the discussion evolved to the use of a hashtag to help those in need locate those willing to help on Twitter. But what to call it? A few ideas floated around and then I sent this message on a whim:

“Wish we could come up with a site/plan to link all this positive energy to. How’s #jobangels sound? ”

And thus JobAngels was born. It was literally that simple. This was not rocket science and there was no divine intervention. It was one simple idea that somehow tapped into people’s desire to stop being victims to a seemingly endless stream of angst, depression and relentless negativity. When faced with hundreds of thousands of job losses, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless. But if the idea is for you to simply aid one person – a friend, a family member, a colleague or a complete stranger – that somehow not only seems possible, it seems probable.

How have people responded?

It has been four months since that original message, and in that time, a movement has begun. In this short period, over 18,000 JobAngels have already assembled across Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Over 500,000 JobAngel messages have been sent across a myriad of online platforms. Angels have donated their time, their networks, their expertise and their hearts to this grassroots initiative (and we are just getting started).

Let me be clear about one thing. JobAngels is not my movement, but it has changed my life. I am blown away by everyday people deciding to step up and aid those in need of employment. This is a chance to truly impact someone’s life and it is amazing to watch the goodwill grow at a time when it’s tempting to thrust your head in the sand.

Please join us if you haven’t already. I’m humbled to be part of this initiative and look forward to hearing your stories of success in the weeks and months to come. Thanks to those of you who have joined thus far and remember, just one Angel can make a world of difference.

NOTE: Five “Guardian Angels” have gone well beyond the call of duty in helping JobAngels become a reality. A warm and heartfelt thanks to Mark Cummuta, Chris Connolly, Deirdre Honner, Charee Klimek and Chris Bailey. Our current and future success would not be possible without their generosity and commitment to this cause. I’d also like to thank Greg Grigoriou of VanPaul Design for creating the JobAngels logo on such short notice.  Coming soon - JobAngels.org.