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Rivers Casino Pittsburgh to be honored for its commitment to hiring, training local employees


Rivers Casino Pittsburgh will be honored by Mon Valley Initiative for its dedication to improving employment opportunities throughout the region.

The Employer Partner of the Year Award will be presented to casino employees at 9 a.m. July 20 at MVI’s 16th annual Employer Appreciation Breakfast, to be held at Rankin Christian Center, 230 Third Ave., Rankin.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Patrick Dowd, executive director of Allies for Children, a network of corporations, educators, non-profit organizations and community volunteers who are advocating on behalf of improved services for children and young people.

For information or to attend, contact Elaine Martin at emartin@monvalleyinitiative.com or 412-464-4000.

“Rivers Casino Pittsburgh is more than one of the region’s most-popular entertainment venues — it’s also an important regional employer,” says Tracey Reaves, Mon Valley Initiative’s director of workforce and business development. “They provide good-paying jobs with meaningful opportunities for training and advancement.”

MVI’s services for the unemployed and under-employed include one-on-one coaching that helps job-seekers to create a resume, search for jobs, practice their interviewing and interpersonal skills, and then meet and exceed the expectations of their employers, once they’re hired.

For several years, MVI’s employment and financial coaches have worked closely with managers at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, matching open positions in a variety of fields with qualified applicants from the Mon Valley and Pittsburgh’s East End and South Hills, Reaves says.

In return, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh managers have participated on MVI’s Employer Advisory Board and in recruitment events. “It’s been a wonderful partnership,” Reaves says. “Their constructive feedback has really helped our staff understand the kinds of skills and attitudes that employers throughout Western Pennsylvania are looking for in the workforce.”

Dowd (right), the keynote speaker, is a former member of the Pittsburgh Board of Education and Pittsburgh City Council. He is expected to talk about the “Our Kids, Our Commitment” campaign, an effort to put a question on the Nov. 6 general election ballot asking Allegheny County residents whether they want to create an Allegheny County Children’s Fund.

Organizers must collect 40,000 signatures from registered Allegheny County voters by Aug. 7. MVI is among the locations across the Pittsburgh area where the petitions may be signed.

Also being honored during the breakfast will be a local resident who will tell of their own success after using employment and financial coaching services offered by MVI, Reaves says.

Founded in 1988, Mon Valley Initiative is a regional, non-profit community development corporation. From offices located in Homestead and Charleroi, MVI offers career improvement and job search assistance, community organizing and outreach, employer services, financial counseling, homebuyer counseling and real estate development in Allegheny, Westmoreland and Washington counties.

For more information, visit www.monvalleyinitiative.com or call 412-464-4000 or 724-565-8040.