Leading Workforce Development Providers Join Forces to Help Youth, Communities and Employers

CLEARWATER, Fla. and SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 5, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In an extraordinary alliance, two leading workforce development providers join forces to expand services, increase impact and connect thousands of underserved youth and adults to local communities and employers. Eckerd Connects and Odle Management Group, LLC, both experienced workforce development trailblazers, will become one of the largest workforce development providers in the U.S. covering nearly 20 states and educating and training over 40,000 clients each year.

Since 1968, Eckerd Connects has been a national non-profit organization that has connected more than 250,000 children, young adults and families to the help they need through programs in workforce development, family and child services and juvenile justice services. For more than 15 years, Odle has provided comprehensive residential, academic and career preparation services to nearly 15,000 underserved young adults through managing the day-to-day operations of nine Job Corps campuses in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia. As a woman- and minority-owned led business, Odle also recruits and matches Job Corps graduates to local and regional employers, as well as manages one-stop centers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas; and manages special projects for foster care and talent pipeline, in the state of Texas.

"Helping youth and adults get an education and a job are the most powerful things society can do to move upstream in the fight against poverty and ultimately prevent children from entering the child welfare and juvenile justice systems," David Dennis, CEO of Eckerd Connects, said. "We don't see this merger from just a business development standpoint, we want our combined talent pool to be a force for good to help and empower young people and all those that need our help."

"The entire Odle team is honored to join forces with Eckerd," Lisa Odle, President and CEO of Odle, said. "Both organizations have deep passions, commitment and sense of responsibility to fulfill our missions and build strong relationships in an effort to put young people on a path to success."

Under the terms of the merger, Odle will remain a separate organization and a wholly owned subsidiary of Eckerd Connects. Together, Eckerd Connects and Odle will have an annual operating revenue of $329 million. The union of Eckerd Connects and Odle paves an unrivalled path to have the capacity to impact the estimated 45 million Americans who live in poverty, 21 million children who are estimated to live in unstable homes and the 6.5 million underserved youth ages 16-24 currently not in school or unemployed.

SOURCE Eckerd Connects