Dishes Washed Weekly
For many years, Challenge Contract Staffing has been meeting the contract staffing needs of the two largest educational institutions in Tompkins County – while providing on-the-job training and career paths for people with barriers to employment.
Our fully supervised crews deliver hundreds of shifts per week to cover dish rooms and other dining room responsibilities for our customers. By focusing on delivering service to large dining hall operations, we’re able to let our customers focus on delivering balanced meals to students. When they engage our Contract Staffing business, customers know their dish rooms are running safely and efficiently and other staffing needs are being fulfilled.
And, we handle recruiting, payroll, insurance and day-to-day management for all of our crews, while meeting strict contract and legal requirements.
For all your Staffing needs please contact us by completing this form in as much detail as possible:
Faces of Challenge
We're hiring ON THE SPOT! Challenge is looking for eligible applicants to work on our teams at Cornell University, Ithaca College, and various other worksites in the community. This is an opportunity to work alongside great people and get your foot in the door at some of our area's largest and most desirable employers. Go to aboutchallenge.org today.
7 QUESTIONS: TESS FRASER, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING SINCE 1/6/2020
Your first paid job was: "Working at a hardware store in Buffalo as a cashier."
I’m giving you $2,000 in cash, half to spend only on yourself and half to spend only on your team at work. You have until the end of the day to spend it. You buy: "A day of self-care at Mirbeau Inn & Spa Skaneateles, and for my team, I'd get them each some new plants––because plants make people happy––and then treat them to a wonderful in-person lunch––because I miss their faces terribly!"
In the movie of your life, the song playing during the opening credits will be: "'I Was Here' by Beyoncé."
And you’ll be played by: "Gal Gadot."
The most thought-provoking thing I’ve read in the last year was: "'A New Earth' by Eckhart Tolle––I've read it many times and I learn something new each time."
Your perfect pizza topping: "Fresh mozzarella and basil."
If you could spend three years in three different jobs, other than those you’ve ever had, you’d try being: "A yoga instructor, an author, and a farmer."
A MESSAGE FROM JOE
Dear Challenge family,
As you may have heard by now, after six years at Challenge Workforce Solutions, I am now preparing to transition into a new role as Executive Director at Hospicare & Palliative Care Services. I am scheduled to start there on February 15, but I will be continuing to serve Challenge in a part-time advisory capacity as we finalize an exciting new community alliance that will offer us financial sustainability and a chance to grow our mission.
Hospicare, in case you aren’t familiar, is an amazing nonprofit organization here in Tompkins County that provides medical expertise and compassionate care to those at any stage of a life-threatening illness, as well as support and information about end-of-life issues to loved ones and the entire community. For me, this is chance to continue my own path of helping to strengthen and grow iconic health and human services organizations—like Challenge, Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, and the Geiger Gibson Community Health Center in Boston (the first Federally Qualified Health Center in the country).
Of course, I will dearly miss Challenge—from greeting our amazing participants at the bus stop, to helping to wash dishes at Cornell Dining or Ithaca College Dining Services, and, yes, even the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts sale. I’ve had a chance to see that helping people live a life with dignity is a great gift itself. Over the past six years, we’ve overcome financial peril, refocused on our core mission, and built a phenomenal team of staff, board members, and community supporters. Together, we have accomplished so much—and Challenge has a bright future ahead.
We’re still hammering out some small but important details on our new alliance––and that’s why I’ll be sticking around to help—but you can be sure that we will keep you informed as it is completed. For right now, I can say with great confidence that our agencies share a deep, decades-long commitment to empowering people with disabilities and other barriers, and that this alliance will allow Challenge to maintain its special role in Tompkins County as well as to expand into new geographical territories, program areas, and employment sectors.
In short, as I leave Challenge, I know I am leaving it in the most capable and caring of hands.
Going forward, if you have questions about development and community relations at Challenge, you can contact Tess Fraser at tess@aboutchallenge.org and if you have any operational or other concerns, you can contact Ebru Arslan at ebru@aboutchallenge.org.
As for me, I am so grateful for your enduring support of our mission. If you have any questions or concerns or simply want to chat, please feel free to contact me directly at joes@aboutchallenge.org, jsammons@hospicare.org, or on my cell phone at 607-379-2045.
Warmly,
Joe Sammons
Executive Director
Challenge Workforce Solutions
[To watch our video tribute to Joe, click this link or visit bit.ly/welcometomymorning]
You will surely be missed, Joe ❤️