EmployIndy, Marion County’s workforce development board, has received just over $1 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to enhance Youth Employment Services (YES). This marks the 13th consecutive year of program funding that provides workforce development and supportive services for young adults to secure and grow in a job.
Lilly Endowment’s latest grant will ensure the program, which has seen 84 percent of participants placed in education programs or employment, will continue for another year. Since 2003, the Endowment has awarded $15 million in grants to fund YES in Marion County, which works to directly remove barriers to employment for more than 4,400 young adults through assistance with childcare, transportation, work clothing and other necessities needed to thrive in education and job opportunities. YES is currently offered through nine community organizations: Edna Martin Christian Center, Fathers and Families Center, Hawthorne Social Service Association, Inc., Keys to Work, PACE, Inc., Martindale Brightwood CDC, Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center, River Valley Resources and Westside Community Ministries.
“EmployIndy is grateful for Lilly Endowment’s continued support of the YES program, and their commitment to removing obstacles that avert education and career pathways for our youth,” said Nicole Thompson, president and CEO of EmployIndy. “As we focus our efforts and investment into ensuring that Marion County residents have access to the necessary skills training that meets the demands of our local employers, YES plays a critical role in providing young people with chances for growth and long-term success. New federal legislation has expanded our capabilities in serving youth and we will leverage this contribution to further support career development activities for people in the community.”
“During the past 13 years Lilly Endowment support has allowed MRNC, through the YES program, to significantly improve the lives of hundreds of youth, by empowering them to see and help choose for themselves the educational and training resources that best help them to improve their situation,” adds Chris Emmons, lead employment coach and YES coordinator for Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center. “Both directly and indirectly YES continues to teach them how to make those same positive decisions on their own, thus helping them to become self-sufficient, confident, and productive members of society.”
In addition to ensuring effective education and employment services for youth through YES, EmployIndy also oversees YouthBuild Indy and the Marion County Jobs for America’s Graduates program. The organization provides job search, placement and development services for adults through the WorkOne Indy system and the recently launched Employ Up, a Ready to Work program for long-term unemployed residents. EmployIndy’s Hire Up initiative works to ensure tech-enabled employers have access to a qualified local workforce and has partnered with Purdue University to develop the first of its kind Purdue Polytechnic Indianapolis High School. EmployIndy’s Business Solutions and Recruiting division partners with local employers to provide qualified candidates to fill open positions.
Founded in 1937, Lilly Endowment, Inc. affords special emphasis to projects that benefit young people and promote leadership education and financial self-sufficiency in the nonprofit, charitable sector.
Source:
http://www.indianapolisrecorder.com/business/article_2fc9185c-7770-11e5-881f-5f34f23c6d0d.html
