Submitted by Community Youth Services
Only two Western Washington non-profits were awarded federal YouthBuild grants to support academic and occupational skill training for at-risk youth.
They were Community Youth Services of Olympia’s Thurston County YouthBuild, receiving the top amount awarded of $1.1 million, and Goodwill Industries of Tacoma, which got the same amount. This is the third time CYS has earned the award.
CYS partners locally with New Market Skills Center to run the program focusing on youth getting their diplomas or GEDs as well as certifications in construction and other programs. Other local partners include South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity and Homes First!, a local non-profit. YouthBuild has constructed and remodeled several homes serving low income families in Thurston County.
Other Washington non-profits awarded are NorthEast Washington Educational Service District 101 in Spokane ($1.1 million) and Opportunities Industrialization Center of Washington in Yakima ($1.1 million).
“Our YouthBuild program, launched in summer 2009, is a model for how tax dollars turn lives around. Nearly 120 young people have benefited in our program alone, and that has a ripple effect of success for their families and peers, proving that positive investments in youth benefit not only the youth themselves, but also society as a whole,” said CYS Executive Director Charles Shelan.
“The YouthBuild program has demonstrated a record of elevating the opportunities and prospects for good, middle-class jobs for thousands of young people through this nation,” said acting Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris. “These grants reflect our shared commitment to investing in the future of our nation’s youth and the belief that those investments will yield dividends for years to come.”
The grants range from about $600,000 to $1.1 million each and will fund 68 YouthBuild programs in 33 states and the District of Columbia. The programs will help nearly 4,600 young people obtain the certifications and skills necessary to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Along with the programs funded today, the Labor Department now actively funds 247 YouthBuild programs around the country.
For more information about the national grants, click here. For more information about Community Youth Services, contact Barbara Wakefield, at the number below, or at (360) 359-6229.
Barbara Wakefield
Development Coordinator
Community Youth Services
711 State Avenue NE
Olympia, WA 98506
(360) 918-7844
bwakefield@CommunityYouthServices.org
www.CommunityYouth.Services.org
