By Staff Writer
Any parent on the Westside of Los Angeles knows that paying for summer camps and ridesharing for kids can have a significant impact on their wallets. Recruiting for Good, a local staffing company, is taking a unique approach to make a difference by assisting moms fund these important yet expensive activities.
“The average cost for summer camp is $500 a week. Summer camp for the whole summer could be $4000 per kid. Some STEM summer camps cost ($700 to $1,100 per week)…We love to create equal access to the best summer camps. At camps, kids learn skills, have fun and grow from within….and moms have a mini vacation from kids even for a couple of hours,” said Carlos Cymerman, the founder of Recruiting for Good. “Ridesharing is universally used by families to save time and money. Parents are working longer hours, and kids have a multitude of activities. It’s another cost that parents incur all year long.”
For the past 20 years, Cymerman has been helping talented professionals find great jobs through his staffing agency, Recruiting for Good. Last year, Cymerman started a community service in Santa Monica called Our Moms Work. The mission was to offer a supportive career and job mentoring service to answer questions, prepare moms reentering the workforce and provide advice about things such as how to get along with a boss, how to land a better job and how to get a raise). It was working with these moms that Cymerman learned about the costs associated with summer camp.
“From my conversations with moms, I found out that Summer Camp is expensive,” Cymerman said. “We are now using our staffing agency, Recruiting for Good to work collaboratively by rewarding referrals made by moms to help fund and save money on summer camp and ridesharing.”
To get the word out about Recruiting for Good’s purposeful service ‘Helping Moms Fund Fun (camp and ridesharing)’ Cymerman is hosting an information fair at Capital One Café in downtown Santa Monica on January 12, 2019, from 10 a.m to 1 p.m to get the word out.
“The purpose of the Fun Summer Camp fair is to inspire and inform parents about a variety of camps available around Santa Monica by creating a space that is both intimate and supportive. Capital One Café was instrumental in allowing us to host the event and is sponsoring the food and drinks,” Cymerman said. “Any mom who is looking to sign up and qualify for our personal summer camp (and ridesharing) funding service, or future summer camp scholarships must sign up at the event.”
Groups and camps who will be in attendance at the Fun Summer Camp include: Nonprofit Single Moms Planet, Kango (Ridesharing Company for Kids), Camp Awesome, Camp Galileo, Good Dirt LA, Learn to Surf, Moo Moo Musica, SHIELD Women’s Self Defense, Star Education, Steve & Kate’s Camp and Summer 4 Fun.
The Fun Summer Camp at Capital One Café helps Cymerman get to know moms personally, something that is a critical step to participating in the purposeful service. Meeting moms face-to-face allows Cymerman to meet like-minded moms who share positive and similar values.
“We’re only serving moms who make a difference and share our values. The best way to get to know people is by meeting in person,” Cymerman said. “Helping moms fund their kids’ fun, is purposeful and meaningful; and our service is both personal and confidential. Meeting moms allows me to explain how Recruiting for Good works collaboratively to fund their kids’ fun. Each mom has her own set of needs; some moms need ridesharing funded, some need summer camp, and some need both.”
While The Fun Summer Camp at Capital One Café is a special, one-time event, Cymerman and Recruiting for Good regularly do public outreach. The first Sunday of every month, Cymerman hosts and sponsors a fun mom brunch at North Italia in Santa Monica. After the brunch, moms who want to sign up; meet Carlos one on one for coffee in Santa Monica to discuss how Recruiting for Good can help fulfill their individual needs.
While Cymerman’s Helping Moms Fund Fun service is still new, he already has big and admiral goals for the program as 2019 rolls around.
“We would love to help 100 moms every year save $2500 or more on summer camp and ridesharing. And reward 100 moms with camp saving scholarships,” Carlos Cymerman said.
