Over the summer, the Venice YouthBuild Program continued recruiting for its upcoming program year.  In September, YouthBuild began its Cycle 14 cohort for the 2015-2016 program year. 

 

The Venice YouthBuild Program is now in its eighteenth year of operation and continues to build upon the successes and experiences of previous years.  Last year's graduation was a huge success taking place at Santa Monica College where 88% of the class graduated from the program.  Of these graduates, all have spent the summer enrolling in college or searching for and securing jobs, and many doing both. Some alumni were hired on as recruiters for the program or doing energy efficiency work through our partnership with LADWP and EnerPath, Inc.  Many alumni have also continued to stay engaged with the program and volunteer to prep for the coming year and assist the new students transitioning into the program.

 

This year we strengthened our partnership with the JVS Marina Del Rey WorkSource and co-enrolled our 2015-2016 class, which will provide more job resources and support for students and the program overall. We are excited to get underway with the new program year and will again partner with various partners as well as new ones: Dreyfuss Construction to continue building affordable housing for seniors; UCLA LOSH for workplace safety & CPR/First Aid training; LAANE on the RePower LA campaign; all Advisory Board partners; SELVA International for landscaping projects; and Community Healing Gardens to name a few.