UCD’s West Philadelphia Skills Initiative is a constant source of inspiration for us. We love meeting new neighbors at our info sessions; watching participants connect with staff and alumni to hear how the program can transform their careers; and supporting our participants as they use their new skills to nail a job interview, and better yet, thrive in a new job. And when these accomplishments are recognized by respected partners, we pause to celebrate.
And that’s why today we are happy to share that our Skills Initiative has received a major grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts that will help us continue to set ambitious goals to further the reach and impact of our program. This $600,000 grant, our largest ever, is crucial to our efforts to significantly grow the Skills Initiative over the next three years, as we look to:
- Increase the number of underserved residents we train in our core employment pipelines;
- Grow our employer partnerships so we can connect to University City’s entire ecosystem of growth, including opportunities in the building industry; and
- Create new job opportunities through cutting-edge business ventures fueled by the purchasing power of our institutional partners – which is similar to the work we’ve started with our landscaping venture, Green City Works.
The award from Pew will be a great help to our next big goal: to serve 500 individuals annually by the end of 2021.
We’d like to sincerely thank The Pew Charitable Trusts for their support of the Skills Initiative throughout our history. We’d also like to thank all of our employee partners, funders and advocates for their continued support of the Skills Initiative. To learn more about our program and the difference it is making within the community, visit the WPSI website. To read Pew’s announcement, click here.
