Year Up Chicago Receives $25,000 Grant from Accenture, Co-Presented by the Illinois Mentoring Partnership
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) October 05, 2016 -- Recognizing Year Up Chicago’s proven approach to providing low-income young adults with in-demand skills and a pathway to professional careers and higher education, Accenture will award a $25,000 grant towards the program’s operations, co-presented with the Illinois Mentoring Partnership
The check will be presented at an event at the Year Up Chicago site on October 3, 2016 at 5:30 pm.
Year Up Chicago helps low-income young adults launch careers in growing industries. Students complete six months of technical and professional skills training, then participate in a six-month internship at a corporate partner like Accenture. Each Year Up student is paired with a mentor, and the Illinois Mentorship Partnership provides best practices, trainings and mentors to this mentoring program.
“Accenture has been a major champion for Year Up Chicago in so many ways — as an employer for our graduates, a corporate partner for our interns, philanthropically, and through its outstanding volunteer engagement,” said Jack Crowe, Executive Director of Year Up Chicago. “We’re thrilled to have Year Up Chicago receive this recognition from Accenture and the Illinois Mentoring Partnership. The grant funds will help us continue delivering our innovative and effective career training to hundreds of young adults each year.”
Accenture has partnered with Year Up Chicago since 2013 through the company’s Skills to Succeed initiative, which equips people with the skills to get a job or build a business. They have hosted twenty Year Up interns and hosted several networking fundraisers in support of the program. Accenture employees also take an active role as Year Up mentors and volunteers.
“Our relationship with Year Up Chicago has helped us become a catalyst for developing work skills and finding employment through mentoring opportunities and internships – including here at Accenture,” said Jim Coleman, senior managing director of Accenture Chicago. “Corporate citizenship is embedded in our core values and we are proud of our people who are helping make a difference in the lives of so many young people in Chicago, empowering them to reach their fullest potential.”
Year Up Chicago will serve 160 students in 2016 and plans to serve 240 students in 2017. Since its launch in September 2010, the site has helped more than 600 young adults (ages 18-24, without college degrees) gain in-demand technical, professional and communication skills for roles in IT, Financial Operations, and Sales. Nationwide, 85 percent of Year Up graduates are employed or attending college full-time within four months of completing the yearlong program, with an average starting salary of $36,000/year. Learn more about Year Up Chicago by following us on Twitter @YearUpChicago and on Facebook.
About Year Up Inc.
Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Year Up achieves this mission through a high support, high expectation model that combines marketable job skills, stipends, internships and college credits. Its holistic approach focuses on students' professional and personal development to place these young adults on a viable path to economic self-sufficiency. Year Up currently serves more than 3,000 students a year at sites in Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Jacksonville, the National Capital Region, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay Area, and South Florida. To learn more, visit http://www.yearup.org or http://www.youtube.com/yearupinc.
Roberto Zeledon, Year Up, http://www.yearup.org, +1 (857) 305-9995, [email protected]
Share this article