FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Janice Szabo ReSOURCE: A Nonprofit Community Enterprise (802) 857-4355 │
[email protected]
Burlington/Barre, VT June 7, 2021 — In recognition of its continued service to opportunity youth, ReSOURCE YouthBuild has been awarded $120,000 in AmeriCorps funding from a national YouthBuild USA grant, helping young people build the skillsets and mindsets that lead to long-term professional and personal success.
ReSOURCE YouthBuild partners with opportunity youth — young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither in school nor employed — to reclaim their education, gain job skills and become leaders in the community. ReSOURCE has operated its YouthBuild program in Vermont without interruption since 2004. The program champions opportunity youth in Burlington and Barre who aspire to improve their lives and communities by building personal and professional skills to reach their full potential. Through YouthBuild these young people pursue their education, prepare for future careers, and grow into community leaders – building brighter futures for themselves, and their neighbors.
Cam Sevakian, a 17-year-old Burlington YouthBuild student, has gained many skills from the program. “I’ve learned a lot more and gained job skills I can use in the future,” he says. “I’ve also gained relationships with other people. Everything is good. There are no downs about this school.”
This grant is one of 65 AmeriCorps awards provided by YouthBuild USA – the nonprofit support center for YouthBuild programs across the country – to various YouthBuild programs in the U.S. The funding is made possible by AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and community volunteerism, and will support 25 YouthBuild AmeriCorps students and three full-time AmeriCorps members at ReSOURCE YouthBuild.
Through the grants, more than 1 million direct service hours will be completed by members nationally and at least 350 units of affordable housing will be made available for low-income individuals and families.
“AmeriCorps is dedicated to creating a more united and equitable future for all Americans,” said Sonali Nijhawan, director of AmeriCorps State and National. “I’m proud to announce new funding that will elevate this work by supporting more AmeriCorps members for YouthBuild USA. I appreciate all of our AmeriCorps members – past, present, and future – for their dedication. As an AmeriCorps alumna myself, I know tomorrow looks a little brighter because they pledged to “get things done for America.”
In addition, $4.7 million in Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards are provided for the AmeriCorps members funded by these grants. After completing a full term of service, AmeriCorps members receive awards they can use to pay for post-secondary education and future job training activities.
“AmeriCorps’ partnership with YouthBuild USA has enabled tens of thousands of opportunity youth across the country to build the next greatest version of themselves,” said John Valverde, president and CEO of YouthBuild USA. “As we make our way out of the pandemic, these young people will be leading the way, rebuilding our communities and reclaiming our stake in each other. With access to an education and a support system of people who believe in them, there is nothing they cannot accomplish. All of us at YouthBuild USA are very grateful for our longstanding partnership with AmeriCorps, which has resulted in decades of service and the building of many bright futures.”
In YouthBuild programs across the country, opportunity youth pursue their education, prepare for future careers and grow into community leaders, building brighter futures for themselves and their neighborhoods. Responding to the urgent need for knowledge, training and opportunity, YouthBuild primarily serves young people who lack a high school diploma and financial resources.
About ReSOURCE: A Nonprofit Community Enterprise
For 30 years, ReSOURCE has grown from a small reuse shop, selling furniture and appliances, to a multi- faceted organization that creates a marketplace for reuse with proceeds helping to fund workforce development, poverty relief, and environmental stewardship. ReSOURCE currently trains 300 people on average each year by using its stores in Burlington, Barre, Hyde Park, and Williston to provide job and life skills training to displaced individuals and at-risk youth, while preventing more than 1,000 tons of material from ending up in the landfill annually. The nonprofit’s Essential Goods poverty relief program has awarded over
$1.7 million worth of goods to more than 14,000 low-income Vermonters.
About YouthBuild USA
With love and respect, YouthBuild partners with opportunity youth to build the skillsets and mindsets that lead to lifelong learning, livelihood, and leadership. At nearly 300 YouthBuild programs across the United States and around the world, students reclaim their education, gain job skills, and become leaders in their communities. To date, YouthBuild has partnered with more than 180,000 young people to dedicate over 50 million hours of service benefitting urban, rural, and tribal communities. YouthBuild strives to create a world where all young people are seen for their potential, and power to transform themselves and their communities. YouthBuild USA – the support center for the YouthBuild movement – strengthens YouthBuild programs through technical assistance, leadership development, innovative program enhancements, and advocacy. YouthBuild programs located outside of the United States are supported by YouthBuild USA’s international division, YouthBuild International.
For more information about the YouthBuild movement, YouthBuild USA, and YouthBuild International, visit YouthBuild.org.
About AmeriCorps
For the past year, thousands of AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors members across all 50 states and U.S. territories have continued their service, quickly adapting to meet the changing needs caused by the pandemic. Dedicated members have persisted to support communities as they respond and recover from the impact of COVID-19, developing new ways to deliver the same services to keep both themselves and those they serve safe.
The recently passed American Rescue Plan includes an additional $1 billion for AmeriCorps. The agency will use this investment to expand national service programs into new communities and increase the opportunity for all Americans to serve their country.
Every year, 75,000 AmeriCorps members serve through thousands of nonprofit, community, and faith-based organizations across the country. These citizens have played a critical role in the recovery of communities affected by disasters and helped thousands of first-generation college students access higher education. They also tutor and mentor young people, connect veterans to jobs, care for seniors, reduce crime and revive cities, fight the opioid epidemic, and meet other critical needs.
As the federal agency for volunteering and service, AmeriCorps brings people together to tackle the county’s most pressing challenges. Since the agency’s inception in 1994, nearly 1.2 million AmeriCorps members have served the nation.
