About Us

WHO WE ARE

40Plus is a non-profit, self-help, volunteer organization offering a proven system of hands-on training, peer support, networking opportunities, volunteering, and talks by experts on topics of interest to professionals in job and career transition.

OUR FAMOUS BEGINNINGS

40Plus was born of the Great Depression when in 1939, Henry Simler, an executive with the Remington Rand company, created a “40 Plus Committee” at New York City’s Sales Executive Club to help the many over-40 executives he knew who were having difficulties finding jobs. Serving as a job clearinghouse and mutual support group, the club soon became an independent organization, while the concept spread to cities throughout the U.S.

Four American giants formed the New York organization’s first Advisory Board: Tom Watson, president and founder of IBM; James Cash Penney, founder of J.C. Penney & Co.; Arthur Godfrey, wildly popular radio and TV personality; and Norman Vincent Peale, minister, inspirational speaker, and author of The Power of Positive Thinking, a book whose publishing record in the Western world is surpassed only by the Bible.

These men realized that a program combining training, motivation, and support, led by and for unemployed people, would work wonders. After a half century of boom and bust in the job market, 40Plus continues to grow--despite being a voluntary organization--because it harnesses the power of people helping themselves.

WASHINGTON, DC, CHAPTER

40Plus of Greater Washington was founded in 1953, making this our 50th anniversary year! We celebrate the more than 8,000 men and women who’ve landed rewarding jobs and new careers through our organization. Watch for our 50th anniversary festivities.