A job fair that welcomes people with a wide variety of skill sets and ability levels is planned Tuesday by the Prospector Theater.
“The movie theater is on schedule to open in July, and we’ll be hiring in the weeks to come,” said Valerie Jensen, the Prospector’s founder. “There’s lots of ‘behind the screen’ stuff that needs to be done to get ready for show time. We’ve started hiring already.”
The job fair will be at the new — or reopened — Ridgefield Library, 472 Main Street, next Tuesday, May 13, from 3 to 7 p.m.
“This is really, really exciting for us,” Ms. Jensen said. “We chose to build a movie theater because of the wide spectrum of jobs that would be available to people of all different abilities, and we’re hiring for over 50 positions.
“And it really could be well over 50,” she added.
“It’s kind of a ‘come one, come all.’ And the Prospector is going to be an all-inclusive atmosphere,” said Rebecca Ciota, Ms. Jensen’s sister and the Prospector’s attorney.
A press release from the Prospector states its mission and philosophy: “This first-run movie theater is like no other. The mission is to create employment opportunities for people with disabilities, while providing our community with a premium first-run movie-going experience.”
The Prospector Theater is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing jobs and training opportunities for people with disabilities. Ms. Jensen has also for many years been a leader of the Ridgefield-based organization that works to enrich the lives of people with developmental disabilities, SPHERE (Special People’s Housing, Education, Recreation and Employment). She organized the group’s live theater productions and, in recent years, its movie-making efforts.
The Prospector will continue those interest areas, but with a focus on employment.
“We’re the only movie theater in the world with this type of mission,” Ms. Jensen said. “The movie studios, advocates for the disabled — and people who just like going to movies — are all equally excited for this theater to open, we have found.”
The news release says: “The Prospector Theater is interested in finding the best talent to meet their business needs. If you know someone who may be a good fit for a job at the Prospector Theater, please encourage him/her to join the Prospector team at the job fair. …
“Interested applicants should come prepared to meet and interview with a hiring manager,” the release says. “In addition, trained support personnel will be on hand to help prepare potential employees for future interviews.”
The theater is looking to hire for “positions in all phases of movie theater operations, ranging from popcorn poppers to ticket-takers to kitchen staff to managers and job coaches,” the organizers say.
“We’re hiring ushers, we’re hiring projectionists, managers, makers and bakers for the restaurant and cafe,” Ms. Jensen said.
“We’re hiring box office cashiers,” added Ms. Ciota.
“In addition, we’re looking for management positions, and a director of development, a professional volunteer coordinator, job coaches.”
As talents and training vary, so does availability, the Prospector people expect.
“Mostly we’ll be hiring part-time employees. Some people will only work a few hours a week, or maybe some people would like to work longer,” Ms. Jensen said.
“We’re going to be flexible, depending on people’s schedules, interests, abilities, and availability.
“And the Prospector would also be an ideal second job for someone, because there are great perks of working here — like seeing great movies, interacting with a wide audience of people, and being part of something special.
“And also, we’re interested in people who want to volunteer,” Ms. Jensen said. “We’re going to invite them to come to the job fair as well, to learn about the theater.
“We’ve got passion for matching people up with whatever they love doing. We’d like to parlay that into voluntary positions, helping people turn their passions into professional or meaningful volunteer opportunities.
“A key to success at the Prospector job fair is to demonstrate a strong passion and desire for meaningful employment or volunteerism.”
“We’re hoping to amass a large pool of dedicated volunteers,” Ms. Ciota said.
“And while the federal jobs report was positive,” Ms. Jensen said, “people with disabilities are entering the workforce more this month than last month, and the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is still an alarming 80%.
“So we’re expecting a huge talent pool to be coming out, wanting to be part of this movie theater, to work here, volunteer here, and enjoy the entertainment that we’re going to have here.”
Ms. Jensen wants the Prospector’s open-minded approach to hiring to catch on.
“I’m hoping that other businesses in the community will recognize through our job fair that there are many, many talented people in our community who are unemployed, but are quality candidates for work who very much would like have meaningful jobs in our community.”
To learn more about the mission and vision of the Prospector Theater before the job fair, people may call Brad Bellagamba at 203-403-3588 or go online to prospectortheater.org.
People interested in the job fair are also encouraged to stop by the Prospector Shop located at 454 Main Street, or visit the website: Prospectortheater.org
The job fair itself will take place next Tuesday at the Ridgefield Library’s “new,” or re-opened, location at the corner of Main Street and Prospect Street, beside the theater building.
“For the job fair, library staff will offer presentations on the many resources, print and digital, it can offer job seekers, from computer skills training to job search tools. Demonstrations and tours of the new library will be available throughout the afternoon,” said Mary Rindfleisch, assistant director of the Ridgefield Library.
“The Ridgefield Library is an intellectual and cultural gathering place for the community, committed to encouraging creativity, enrichment and lifelong learning, through expert and supportive staff, diverse and relevant programming, emerging and tested technologies, and collections available in myriad formats.”
Ms. Jensen said that the one principle the Prospector is committed to as an employer will be equal treatment of everyone who works there.
“With the type of jobs we’ve got, there’s going to be no way to discern who’s an employee and who’s a job coach. Everyone’s outfitted the same, everyone has the same high standard,” she said.
Disabled/non-disabled — not a thing,” she said. “We are all ‘abled’ with the right training, encouragement, and supports.”
“Everybody is treated as a valued and productive employee,” Ms. Ciota said.
“The call to action is, ‘Please come join our team.’”