WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today the award of $80.3 million in YouthBuild grants to non-profit organizations in 35 states to help young people struggling to reach key educational and career milestones and to equip themselves to be successful in the workforce and engaged in their communities.
YouthBuild is a community-based, alternative education program that provides job training and educational opportunities for at-risk youth, ages 16-24. The grants announced today range from approximately $700,000 to $1.1 million each and will fund 77 YouthBuild programs.
Antwain Nelson (right) earned an education and job training in a local Youthbuild program in the nation’s capital. Now he builds affordable homes in low-income communities.
“All young people are gifted and talented, and it is everyone’s responsibility to help draw out those gifts and talents,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said. “YouthBuild provides young people with an important opportunity to gain the education and skills they need for good-paying jobs, while also helping them become more engaged members of their communities. That can mean everything to a young person who didn’t get the easiest start in life.” The grants announced today will help approximately 5,000 at-risk youth complete high school or state equivalency degree programs; earn industry-recognized certifications within in-demand occupations; and gain construction skills training to build housing for low-income or homeless individuals and families in their communities.
To ensure that the nation’s most disadvantaged communities have access to funding – for the first time in the program’s history – priority consideration was given to organizations serving localities designated as Promise Zones. The department is awarding grants today to eight organizations specifically targeting seven Promise Zones: Camden, New Jersey; El Paso and San Antonio, Texas; Hartford, Connecticut; two communities within Los Angeles; San Diego; and St. Paul, Minnesota.
YouthBuild’s mission aligns closely with the goals of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, which seeks to address persistent opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color, and ensure that all young people can realize their full potential.
A list of this year’s YouthBuild funding participants follows this release.
Grant Recipient City State Amount Pickens County Community Action Committee and Development Carrollton Ala.
$1,100,000 Friendly House, Inc.
Phoenix Ariz.
$911,494 Little Rock Workforce Development Board Little Rock Ark.
$900,000 Able-Disabled Advocacy, Inc.
San Diego Calif.
$1,100,000 Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Inc.
Los Angeles Calif.
$1,100,000 Coalition for Responsible Community Development Los Angeles Calif.
$1,100,000 Foundation for Second Chances Los Angeles Calif.
$1,100,000 Heartland Coalition Lakeside Calif.
$1,100,000 Venice Community Housing Corporation Venice Calif.
$1,100,000 Capital Workforce Partners Hartford Conn.
$1,099,680 Community Renewal Team, Inc.
Hartford Conn.
$1,099,997 EMERGE Connecticut, Inc.
New Haven Conn.
$960,976 The WorkPlace Bridgeport Conn.
$1,098,026 Florida Institute for Workforce Innovation Gainesville Fla.
$1,100,000 Greater Miami Service Corps Miami Fla.
$1,100,000 Housing Authority of the City of Lakeland Lakeland Fla.
$990,024 Valencia College-Osceola Campus Kissimmee Fla.
$1,093,940 WorkNet Pinellas, Inc. (dba CareerSource Pinellas) Clearwater Fla.
$1,100,000 CHRIS Kids Atlanta Ga.
$960,495 City of Atlanta Atlanta Ga.
$1,100,000 City of Savannah Savannah Ga.
$936,000 Future Seekers Incorporated East Point Ga.
$989,284 Homework Hangout Club, Inc.
Decatur Ill.
$1,100,000 Metropolitan Family Services Chicago Ill.
$1,059,339 United Methodist Children`s Home Mt. Vernon Ill.
$1,100,000 Northshore Technical Community College Bogalusa La.
$921,893 Southern University at Shreveport Shreveport La.
$989,579 Goodwill Industries of Northern New England Portland Maine $1,066,519 Civic Works, Inc.
Baltimore Md.
$1,100,000 Just-A-Start Corporation Cambridge Mass.
$1,100,000 North Shore Community Development Coalition Salem Mass.
$1,100,000 Old Colony YMCA Brockton Mass.
$1,100,000 Training Resources of America, Inc.
Worcester Mass.
$986,585 Metro Community Development, Inc.
Flint Mich.
$1,100,000 Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services St. Paul Minn.
$1,050,000 Goodwill Industries, Inc. (dba Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota) Saint Paul Minn.
$707,514 CLIMB Community Development Corporation Gulfport Miss.
$1,098,940 Housing Authority of Kansas City Missouri Kansas City Mo.
$1,100,000 Job Point Columbia Mo.
$1,100,000 Housing Authority of the City of Camden Camden N.J.
$1,100,000 Isles, Inc.
Trenton N.J.
$866,709 New Jersey Community Development Corporation Paterson N.J.
$1,100,000 Capacity Builders, Inc.
Farmington N.M.
$1,099,978 HELP-New Mexico, Inc.
Albuquerque N.M.
$1,021,800 Commission on Economic Opportunity for the Greater Capital Region Troy N.Y.
$972,000 South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation Bronx N.Y.
$1,100,000 The Crenulated Company Ltd. (dba New Settlement Apartments) New York N.Y.
$1,100,000 United Way of Long Island, Inc.
Deer Park N.Y.
$1,100,000 Workforce Development Board - Oneida County Utica N.Y.
$1,089,807 Youth Action Program and Homes, Inc.
New York N.Y.
$1,100,000 Goodwill Industries, Inc.-Omaha Omaha Neb.
$1,004,800 The Children`s Cabinet, Inc.
Reno Nev.
$1,080,000 Telamon Corporation Raleigh N.C.
$1,100,000 Triangle Literacy Council Raleigh N.C.
$821,301 Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency Cincinnati Ohio $1,096,704 County Corp Dayton Ohio $1,100,000 Project REBUILD Inc.
Canton Ohio $957,754 Trumbull Metropolitan Housing Authority Warren Ohio $1,072,500 Community Development Support Association, Inc.
Enid Okla.
$933,829 Heart of Oregon Corps, Inc.
Bend Ore.
$1,100,000 Crispus Attucks Association of York Pennsylvania York Pa.
$1,100,000 Garfield Jubilee Association, Inc.
Pittsburgh Pa.
$1,077,345 Goodwill Industries of the Conemaugh Valley, Inc.
Johnstown Pa.
$720,000 Benedict-Allen Community Development Corporation Columbia S.C.
$1,067,997 Knoxville Leadership Foundation Knoxville Tenn.
$1,100,000 American YouthWorks Austin Texas $1,099,969 George Gervin Youth Center, Inc.
San Antonio Texas $1,100,000 Workforce Solutions Borderplex, Inc.
El Paso Texas $609,928 Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College Ogden Utah $1,100,000 Pathways-VA Inc.
Petersburg Va.
$1,100,000 ReSOURCE A Nonprofit Community Enterprise Inc.
Burlington Vt.
$900,000 Opportunities Industrialization Center of Washington Yakima Wash.
$1,100,000 Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic Toppenish Wash.
$1,098,944 Randolph County Housing Authority Elkins W.Va.
$1,091,330 Community Action, Inc. of Rock and Walworth Counties Beloit Wis.
$1,100,000 Employ Milwaukee, Inc.
Milwaukee Wis.
$1,100,000 Western Technical College La Crosse Wis.
$1,004,320
