The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Palm Beach County and the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce are sister organizations committed to bringing advanced leadership, advocacy, and growth opportunities to our members. By combining our strengths, we offer a powerful, closer reflection of the Palm Beach County landscape and you get the benefits of two dynamic organizations. Join us today and give your growing business a voice that sounds like its community.

Gente People | Comercio Commerce | Comunidad Community

Congratulations, Maria!

Please join us in congratulating Maria Antuña, CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Palm Beach County, for her appointment to the Forum Club Board of Directors!

Hurricane Preparedness Information

Click here to download a guide to help you get started on your business plan preparations courtesy of Florida Power & Light, Executive Board Member of the Central Palm County Chamber of Commerce.

Below, you will also find several resources to help enhance hurricane preparedness for you, your family, and business. Please take a moment to review the attached resources and share with anyone who may benefit.

Community Notices

Hurricane season starts June 1, and many of our Palm Beach County neighbors are making sure they are prepared. As you update hurricane supplies, keep in mind that some items should not be placed in the garbage, but instead, be brought to one of the SWA’s Home Chemical and Recycling Centers.

Supplies requiring special disposal include:

- gasoline and oil from generators
- propane tanks
- rechargeable batteries from electronics or flashlights

These items (and other home hazards) can be dropped off for free by Palm Beach County residents at any of the Home Chemical and Recycling Centers listed below, where they will be recycled or disposed of properly.

For more information and locations, click here.

Community Events

Summer Drive Through Food Distributions

sponsored by WPTV and The Urban League of Palm Beach County 

The Urban League of Palm Beach County is partnering with WPTV, Scripps Howard Foundation, Publix Super Market, Florida Crystals Corporation, The Kiwanis Club of Riviera Beach, AmeriHealth Caritas Florida, Guardians of The Glades and KOP Mentoring Network to host a three city Summer Drive Through Food Distribution, in West Palm Beach, Delray Beach and Belle Glade communities on Saturday, July 30 from 8:00 am – 12:00 pm. We are looking for monetary donations to purchase food items, and volunteers to help distribute food to an estimated 3,000 families in need of food.

The Palm Beach County food banks distribute more than a million-and-a-half pounds of food a month, which puts food on the table for 100,000 families, this still is not enough to meet the overwhelming food shortage throughout Palm Beach County. 

Look at these devastating numbers:

- 15% of Palm Beach County residents are “food insecure.”
- Over 200,000 people, including 63,000 children, are unsure where their next meal is coming from….not so surprising when you consider that 57% of Palm Beach County students receive free or reduced-price breakfast & lunch during the school year.
- Although 170,000 families, each month, receive food stamps in our “wealthy” county, they usually run out of these vouchers after 2 weeks. Plus, in the summer, kids no longer receive free breakfast and lunch so hunger remains a daily challenge for many children.

We are asking you to join us at the Summer Food Drive, to help make a difference in the lives those we serve! 

Volunteers are needed at each location on July 30^th from 7:00 am – 12:30 pm. Please ask your families, students, clients, and other stakeholders to register for the Summer Food Drive by clicking on the following link. 

Volunteer (ulpbc.org) 

Click on the link below to donate to our three city Summer Food Drive 

https://ulpbc.org/summer-food-drive/

July 13 Early Childhood & Afterschool Job Fair to feature more than 25 employers hiring for more than 100 jobs 

PBSC partners with CareerSource Palm Beach County to host the job fair on Lake Worth campus

(LAKE WORTH, Fla. – July 5, 2022) More than 25 employers, including child care centers, public and private schools, and recreation centers, will recruit at the Early Childhood & Afterschool Job Fair, Wednesday, July 13, at Palm Beach State College’s Lake Worth campus.

Free and open to the public, the job fair will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. in the Public Safety Conference Center, room PSD 108, 4200 Congress Ave.

Attendees should bring multiple copies of their resume and will be asked to register at the fair—there is no advance registration.

Job seekers will be able to apply for more than 100 full- and part-time positions, ranging from early childhood educators, teacher assistants, tutors, and center directors and administrators to preschool and VPK teachers, afterschool counselors, substitute teachers, bus drivers and more.

Exhibiting employers include Bright Horizons, Lutheran Services Florida, Palm Beach Preschool, Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County, Cambridge Preschools, School District of Palm Beach County, Prime Time Palm Beach County, DeVos-Blum Family YMCA of Boynton Beach, City of Greenacres and more.

Employers in this field are having difficulty recruiting personnel.

“Our business partnership councils have been telling us how hard it’s been recently to hire staff for their schools,” said Susy Martinez White, director of Early Childhood and K-12 Education programs at PBSC. “State laws dictate the teacher-child ratio, putting pressure on employers who don’t have enough staff to handle the number of children they serve. With this job fair, we hope we can help the industry find and hire qualified job candidates before the start of the school year.” 

Palm Beach State also will exhibit as the leading educator of child care and afterschool professionals in Palm Beach County and the county’s Training Coordinating Agency for the Florida Department of Children and Families. PBSC offers many options for training, from entry-level and advanced certificates to associate and bachelor’s degrees. Plus, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about scholarships through Prime Time Palm Beach County and the Institute of Excellence in Early Care and Education that enable child care and afterschool professionals to continue their education. 

For more information or questions about the Early Childhood & Afterschool Job Fair, please contact Susy Martinez White at 561-868-3807 or email [email protected].

 Palm Beach State College

Founded in 1933 as Florida’s first public community college, Palm Beach State College has been an integral player in the growth and prosperity of Palm Beach County. Our graduates impact every industry and are community and business leaders. With more than 130 programs of study, PBSC offers bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, professional certificates, career training and lifelong learning. More than 40,000 students enroll annually in face-to-face, online, live online and hybrid classes at five convenient locations in Lake Worth, Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, Belle Glade and Loxahatchee Groves. Learn more at www.palmbeachstate.edu.

CareerSource Palm Beach County

CareerSource offers virtual and in-person job fairs, classes and facilities for job searches, grants for job skills training for those who qualify, career development and consulting – at no cost! During the past five program years, CareerSource Palm Beach County assisted nearly 60,000 residents to find employment ranging from entry-level to executive suite, with salaries from these jobs creating $1.2 billion in annual wages. CareerSource also awarded $10.1 million in grants to area businesses and employees for job training and educational assistance during that time. More information is at www.careersourcepbc.com.

CareerSource also provides services to help rebuild and sustain businesses in today’s challenging marketplace. CareerSource absorbs the cost of most of these services including recruitment, assessments and referrals of qualified job candidates; space and staff assistance for screening/interviewing candidates; and grants for training employees.