Dear friends, 

We founded CareerWork$ because we care deeply about education and knew that economic instability for parents hurt student learning outcomes. We realized we were uniquely positioned to create more opportunities for career-potential jobs, giving parents and others stability necessary for their families. So we embarked on a journey to expand our work.  Les reached out to several bank executives to support this idea, and we chose our first non-profit training partner. Together we created the BankWork$ program, focused on access to entry-level jobs in financial services with opportunities for career advancement. Sheri’s deep commitment to healthcare inspired our program focused on non-clinical healthcare roles, and we launched CareerWork$ Medical in 2017. 

Our commitment to helping people have access to livable wage career paths is very personal to us. We want every person to have the experience Les had early in his career, when people in positions of power opened doors that helped him climb the banking career ladder. Today, too many young people—particularly people of color—face barriers to that first rung of the career ladder. At CareerWork$, our objective is to open doors in the same way others opened doors for Les. We founded the Sheri & Les Biller Family Foundation to change people’s lives in meaningful and lasting ways. Since 2006, we’ve created access for thousands of young people to launch meaningful, lasting careers. Seeing the ripple effects of these programs on participants, their families, their networks, and their communities inspires us and keeps us deeply committed to this work. 

Today, our programs have launched more than 5,300 careers with access to increased responsibility and compensation. Just as importantly, they give participants an opportunity to be responsible for their own success. For us, graduation ceremonies and hiring fairs are the most powerful moments in these programs, where graduates immediately interview for open roles with our employer partners. After eight weeks of hope and trust, we see young people emerge with skills and abilities, yes, and with renewed self-confidence, self-worth, and pride. At a recent job fair we congratulated a graduate on her on-the-spot job offer. She smiled and said, “I have a few more interviews, so I’m going to see if I get a better offer.” Witnessing her pride in what she accomplished through this program, and knowing this experience was lifechanging—that’s why we care so deeply about this work.

Thank you for your interest in opening doors to career opportunities through CareerWork$ and our programs. Thank you for being part of this effort to ensure that everyone can achieve economic stability to support themselves, their families, and communities everywhere. The future is enormously exciting.

With gratitude, 

Les & Sheri Biller

The Sheri & Les Biller Family Foundation