frontlines
Headhunter For A Cause
Allan P. Adler
I Special to the Jewish News
lec Chapman of Franklin is
an industrious and hard-
working young man, who,
at 17, has started his own business.
While that is an accomplishment
in itself, the junior at Cranbrook
Kingswood High School in Bloomfield
Hills is more than an entrepreneur; he
is a philanthropist who also manages
to maintain an almost 4.0 grade point
average.
Last August, Alec
started a job hunting
service. Through use
of various Internet
websites, he pairs job
seekers with firms
that need help. But
there's a twist. He
Alec Chapman does not accept any
personal compensa-
tion for his work. Rather, companies,
when they find the right employee,
make a donation to one of six charities
listed on Alec's website, headhunter
foracause.com .
"I heard from companies about how
difficult it is to find good employees,
and then I heard about people who
were finding it hard to find a job,"
explains Alec. "It didn't make any
sense to me at all. So I came up with
A
this idea."
Alec's initial clients are companies
that he has contacted through his par-
ents, Jerry and Terri Chapman. Jerry
Chapman owns SolidSignal.com , an
online electronics products firm. The
family attends Temple Israel in West
Bloomfield.
In just the past seven months, Alec
has placed 11 people in various com-
panies, and donations to his charities
total $6,000. All of the positions, so
far, have been entry level.
As with any good businessman, Alec
wants to expand his company and
grow his client list. So far, he's recruit-
ed the help of two other volunteers
so that the focus can stay on helping
charities.
For various reasons, he says he has
a personal affinity for the six chari-
ties, which include Horizons-Upward
Bound at Cranbrook Schools; Drugfree.
org; Child Find of America Inc.; the
Breast Cancer Research Foundation;
the American Red Cross; and National
Military Family Association.
For example, he notes that he has
family members who have suffered
from breast cancer, and he likes the
military families group because "they
help families find jobs and family is
very important in my life
The business keeps Alec busy but he
doesn't mind.
JN CONTENTS
"I do a lot during the weekends and
also a couple hours during the week
each day," he says. "This is a hobby of
mine and I actually enjoy doing it a lot:'
School is also important to him and
he notes he'd like to go on to college
and study business. He says he hasn't
picked a university yet and he'd like
to keep his business going as long as
possible. He admits somewhere down
the road, if the business grows enough,
he may take some pay but he stresses,
"I'm always going to have a charitable
aspect."
Alec's parents are understandably
proud of him. "I have three boys and
he's the middle kid," says his dad. "He's
the one to figure everything out. He's
way smarter than the rest of us."
Alec's older brother, Jacob, is a
freshman at Michigan State University
and his younger brother, Ryan, is a
seventh-grader at Cranbrook Middle
School.
Jerry Chapman says his son is "con-
stantly modifying what he does to
become more efficient and more effec-
tive. He knows the right people to call
and the right questions to ask."
Chapman is also impressed with his
son's generosity. "The whole thought
process is about charity, not greed,"
he says in reference to his son's busi-
ness. "It's quite inventive and it's bril-
liant."
Make
a Change
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William j. Vasi left rvit-
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Rhinoplasty specialist
(nose surgery)
Double Board Certified
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❑
the JEWISHNEWS
Feb. 21-27, 2013 I 11-17 Adar 5773 I Vol. CXLIII, No. 3
BEFORE
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Calendar
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Letters
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Next Generation
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Out & About
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39
Columnist
Danny Raskin
52
Fast of Esther: Thursday, Feb. 21, 6:08 a.m.-
6:56 p.m.
Shabbat: Friday, Feb. 22, 5:56 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, Feb. 23, 6:58 p.m.
Purim: Sunday, Feb. 24
Shabbat: Friday, March 1, 6:04 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, March 2, 7:06 p.m.
Times are according to the Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah calendar.
On The Cover:
AFTER
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