Year Up Receives $300,000 USA Funds Grant to Expand Three Professional Training Corps Sites
Jacksonville, Florida (PRWEB) June 25, 2015 -- Recognizing Year Up’s innovative and effective approach to providing young adults with in-demand skills and a pathway to college completion, USA Funds has awarded a $300,000 grant to fund the expansion of three Year Up Professional Training Corps (PTC) sites: Year Up Jacksonville, Year Up Arizona, and Year Up National Capital Region (Woodbridge).
“Year Up’s work to build pathways linking young adults to college and employment aligns with USA Funds’ focus on Completion With a Purpose, promoting student success in college and careers,” said Carol D’Amico, USA Funds executive vice president, National Engagement and Philanthropy. “We’re delighted to support this expansion of Year Up services in Jacksonville, Phoenix and the Washington, D.C. area, to empower young adults in these communities to move from poverty to professional careers.”
Year Up’s PTC sites help students earn an associate’s degree while providing them with professional development and work experience closely linked to labor market demand. Students take community college courses and Year Up courses during the first semester, and then participate in a six-month, full-time, credit-bearing professional internship at a corporate partner firm. Students can then complete their associate’s degrees the following year.
“USA Funds’ grant will help us ensure that college leads to a degree and a career for more young adults who are disconnected from the economic mainstream,” said Gerald Chertavian, Year Up Founder and CEO. “As an outcomes-focused, scalable solution to the skills gap, the expansion of Year Up’s PTC program will allow us to serve even more young adults in need of an opportunity — and companies in need of talent.”
Robert Murray, USA Funds Vice President of Corporate and Marketing Communications, will present the USA Funds grant check during Year Up Jacksonville’s ribbon-cutting ceremony June 25. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will also feature remarks from Florida State College at Jacksonville President Dr. Cynthia Bioteau, Year Up Founder and CEO Gerald Chertavian, Year Up President Garrett Moran, and current Year Up Jacksonville students.
Nationwide, 85 percent of Year Up graduates are employed or attending college full-time within four months of graduation, earning average starting salaries of $32,000/year.
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 2,700 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.
About USA Funds
USA Funds is a nonprofit corporation that supports Completion With a Purpose, building a more purposeful path for America’s students to and through college and on to rewarding careers and successful lives. USA Funds pursues its nonprofit mission through philanthropic activities and partnerships, policy research, and programs and services that enhance preparation for, access to and success in higher education. Learn more at http://www.usafunds.org.
Roberto Zeledon, Year Up, http://www.yearup.org, +1 857-305-9995, [email protected]
Share this article