Bank of America has donated $500,000 to YouthBuild USA to help support career development and green job training in low-income areas.
The YouthBuild program puts young people, ages 16-24, to work full time, helping them gain valuable career skills while also working toward their high school degree or GED® credential.
"Education and workforce development are essential components to revitalizing our communities and stimulating and sustaining local economies," said Robert E. Gallery, Massachusetts president for Bank of America.
Since 1994, almost 100,000 YouthBuild students have worked to build 19,000 affordable environmentally conscious homes for people in their communities.
The organization’s focus on energy efficiency ensures that the job training provided will continue to be relevant in the coming years.
The U.S. Department of Labor says that "green construction" is becoming increasingly popular, and job prospects are expected to remain strong.
Dorothy Stoneman, president and founder of YouthBuild USA, says, "There is no greater predictor of future professional and financial success than education and training."
Much of the funding will also go to many of YouthBuild’s 273 local affliliates, located across the country in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands.
One in particular, YouthBuild Boston, is working to construct a green, outdoor classroom for a low-income area school in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
This year’s grant continues a partnership between the two organizations that first started in 2005, and previously provided more than $600,000 in grants for the organization.
Last year, Bank of America laid out a 10-year goal to donate $2 billion dollars to nonprofit organizations focused on making tangible improvements to their neighborhoods.
Bank employees also volunteered more than 800,000 hours last year to help their communities, and aim to surpass one million hours in 2010.