Great IT training options open to South Dallas-Fair Park!

Dear supporters, partners, and friends of Per Scholas:   Our first ever IT-Ready class at Per Scholas Dallas is kicking off February 23 at our new location in the CitySquare Opportunity Center.     We are seeking applicants for this exciting opportunity. Per Scholas training is offered at 100% scholarship to unemployed, under-employed, and low income adults interested in pursuing a career in IT.   What is a Per Scholas IT-Ready course? IT-Ready is an 8-week, full time, tuition-free IT training opportunity comprised of rigorous tech skills and soft-skills training essential to IT workplace success. CompTIA A+ certification prepares graduates for entry-level employment in IT in positions such as Data Center Technicians, Desktop Support Specialists, IT Support Analysts, and Network Field Technicians.. 3 out of 4 Per Scholas grads land jobs upon graduation, with an average starting salary of $30K.   Who is a good fit for Per Scholas IT-Ready? ·         someone who has a genuine interest in pursuing a career in the IT industry ·         someone who needs A+ certification to find employment ·         someone who is not afraid to work hard to accomplish a life-changing goal   To see the detailed list of requirements, see below or click here to download our flyer.      Refer today! Now is the time to apply. Interested individuals should complete our online application here. More information can be found at perscholas.org/dallas   Please forward this to anyone in your network who might be right for this program. You can also download & print the flyer below. Thank you.    Sincerely,   Billy Lane   Managing Director, Per Scholas Dallas

 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FLYER

WorkPaths: Path2Success

Workforce Training and CitySquare

Here are scenes from the DFW Education Center where CitySquare partners with Northlake College and the Construction Education Foundation to offer our WorkPaths training program.  The 16-week instruction exposes students to every aspect of construction trades, including framing, floor and roof systems, H/VAC, plumbing, electrical, welding, OSHA, forklift operations, and much more! 

A very high percentage of our students graduate, and over 70% find employment and remain employed 6 months out from course completion.  Currently, 20 students are working through this very beneficial course!  We're extremely proud of each of them!

What a phenomenal resource we have in the DFW Education Center.  The multi-million dollar facility provides amazing options and opportunities for the students we recruit to the program and with whom we work on a daily basis. 

Take Action Today: Save AmeriCorps!!!

On Friday, a number of us had the privilege to meet with Robert Velasco, II, the CEO of the Corporation of National and Community Service, best known for its AmeriCorps program created in 1993.  Talking with Mr. Velasco for over two hours allowed me to rehearse some fairly amazing facts and stats about our AmeriCorps program here at CitySquare.  

For example. . .

• 80% of our AmeriCorps resources go out the door to our partners in the community, typically very effecitve but smaller non-profits who use the members to build capacity in operating summer and after-school programs
• Over the past year our members worked with 3,700 low-income children in these programs and at CitySquare
• AmeriCorps members provided nutritious food products to 28,000 individuals, including 8,000 children in our mobile summer lunch program who also participated in enrichment programs focusing on learning and fitness

The list could actually go on and on as to the benefit and cost effectiveness of the AmeriCorps program.  I've witnessed amazing "return on investment" in human and community capital over the past 6 years that we've been involved with AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Upon my return to the office from my meeting with Mr. Velasco, I learn that members of the U. S. House of Representatives have crafted a legislative plan to end almost all of the work of the Corporation of National and Community Service!  A truly absurd, short-sighted, ridiculous plan.

Here's the briefing I received:

The Save Service Coalition learned yesterday that the House of Representatives has issued draft legislation to shut down the Corporation for National and Community Service and eliminate funding for AmeriCorps, the Social Innovation Fund, the Volunteer Generation Fund and Learn & Serve America. While we are pleased that the House bill includes funding for the National Senior Volunteer Programs, the bill dissolves the entire service enterprise, cuts over 100,000 jobs, and eliminates essential services that children, seniors, veterans and entire communities rely on.

Please visit the Save Service Take Action page to write and call your Members of Congress immediately to prevent this House bill from becoming law.

All of this comes at a time when the nation's investment in service should be growing to create jobs and better provide services to local communities. We will continue to work with the tens of thousands of Americans who are engaged in the Save Service initiative to ensure our country's policymakers recognize the value national service provides to our country and the critical role that the Corporation for National and Community Service plays in support of the 70,000 nonprofit and community organizations that mobilize Americans in service.

At a time when we need to find inexpensive ways to get things done, provide educational services for children and leverage scarce resourses, destroying AmeriCorps and its family of service solutions makes no sense whatsoever. 

Please take action today to tell your Senators and your member of Congress that you support continuing the vital work of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Work--Part 3

This post is the final in a 3-part series on work and CitySquare's efforts to provide hard skills, construction training for participants.  The stories are encouraging and are presented here in "raw" case notes.

Cleto Villafana - Cleto was born in Mexico and came to Dallas, Texas when he was 15. He struggled initially with poor English skills but he wasn’t going to let anything as “minor as language” get in his way of achieving the success he sought. Cleto will be quick to tell you one of the reasons he has been able to do the things he has done is because of the support of his girlfriend (who became his wife), they met soon after he came to Dallas. With her help, he greatly improved his English and even though he did not graduate from high school, he did not stop learning. Cleto has his permanent resident card, a social security card and his driver’s license and hopes to eventually become a U. S. Citizen. He lost no time finding work when he married his girlfriend so he could support his “new” family. Things were going well until the economy slowed to a crawl and Cleto was laid off from his job and had been unable to find work. Cleto attended an orientation for Build4Success, thinking he probably didn’t have what it would take to get into the program because he lacked confidence in his ability to read and write English. He was very nervous about the TABE test but the WorkPaths staff, along with his wife, encouraged him to not let the test stop him, so Cleto gathered his courage and took the test. To his surprise he did well on the TABE test; he didn’t lack knowledge, he lacked the confidence in himself. He scored well and was selected to be a part of the program. Completing the coursework was not as easy for Cleto as for those whose native language is English but he worked hard, he’s smart and he was determined. After graduation, Cleto told the WorkPaths staff he was interested in working for a mechanical contractor. One of WorkPaths’ employer partners was interested in hiring Cleto but one of their requirements was new hires had to have a high school diploma or GED, he did not have either of these. During the B4S training, he told the WorkPaths Director he would like to enroll in GED classes and this information was transmitted to the employer. Due in large part to his strong performance during training, his dogged determination, and the recommendation from WorkPaths, the contractor agreed to hire him with the condition he get his GED after he was hired. WorkPaths arranged for him to start GED classes at CEF within a few weeks after graduation and on his own, Cleto also enrolled in ESL classes. He completed his GED with a score of 98 and the contractor is very pleased with him. Some people will allow perceived obstacles to stand in their way of achieving their goals while others will find a way to overcome challenges and succeed. Cleto is proof if you really want to do something and are willing to do what it takes to achieve your goal, you can accomplish it. “Can’t” is an English word he has chosen not to use.

Work--Part 1

What follows are case notes, three stories to be presented in three parts, about students who participated in CitySquare's Build4Success construction skill training program.  The difficulties folks face and the bravery them employ to create better lives keeps me going.  The pathway forward and upward seldom turns out to be built along a straight line!  But progress happens!

Sam Griffin – Sam has struggled with a number of issues since completing the Build4Success program in 2009. When he originally enrolled in B4S, he had been out of prison on parole only a few months after having served 17 years of a 45 year sentence for armed robbery. He got his driver’s license and then landed a job with Ed Bell Construction; after he went to work he was doing well. He saved enough to buy a truck (a deal through Ed Bell, they arranged for him to purchase one of the trucks their company was selling and he got a great deal from them). After working at Ed Bell for about 9 months, he was offered a better position with Azteca-Omega. The job at Azteca-Omega would provide him with benefits and training. He left his job at Ed Bell on the Friday before last Easter and was to start with Azteca-Omega on Monday following Easter (2010) when he was shot early Easter morning in the eye, it was a case of mistaken identity. I think most of us are somewhat familiar with Sam’s story surrounding the shooting but to refresh – Sam lost his eye. The CitySquare family rallied around Sam, even taking up a collection to help him out; Project Access worked with him getting his medical needs met, SWS helped him get moved out of a bad living situation in a bad part of town (he was forced to keep all his clothes in his truck so his brother wouldn’t steal them). CitySquare's Social Work Services (SWS) has helped Sam get into an apartment he found in the Junius Heights area and through donations he has been able to furnish it and SWS has helped him with his rent. Sam has endured several surgeries to repair damage to his eye socket and now has a prosthetic eye; he still suffers hearing loss as a result of the shooting. This past fall, Sam enrolled in the Path2Success course offered by WorkPaths and graduated in December just before Christmas. He has not been released to return to work yet but we anticipate that happening soon. My Sunday School class is going to purchase the hearing aids he needs, this should be the last step in being released to work. He will be part of the initial crew on the Habitat project in which CitySquare will be framing 50 new homes.

Through all of this, Sam has kept a positive outlook and has worked hard at recovering from his injuries, both physical and emotional. He has spoken at orientations about the opportunities afforded through WorkPaths training, he participated as an evaluator at tryouts, and most recently came to the DFW Education Center to talk to the current training class about ‘taking the course seriously’. He is very articulate and one of the other evaluators at tryouts told us he should be a motivational speaker. What he says comes from his heart. He is a great example of "hope."

Workforce training gets cut in US House budget proposals

Here's the latest from Washington on the current budget discussions and workforce training/development.  

The Continuing Resolution passed by the U. S. House of Representatives last Saturday de-obligates, rescinds and removes the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) from any current or future funding.

This action comes as a surprising development, and hardly logical considering ongoing unemployment and underemployment in the nation.  It is, however, a fact of the current House Bill.


By any measure, this is unprecedented. Here in Dallas our workforce commission has operated without decline or interruption for more than 27 years. The nation depends on the workforce system for retraining, remediation, re-employment, national emergency re-employment and youth workforce preparation.

Although the House has determined that the system is expendable, provisions to fund the WIA remain in the budgets developed by the Obama Administration and the U. S. Senate.

The removal of workforce would cut Dallas capacity and space by half.

More of the same:  penny wise, pound foolish. 

We may perish by movement to the extremes. 

"Opportunity Center" progress

Seems like time to provide a brief update on the development of our new "Opportunity Center" located on a 4-acre tract at the corner of Malcolm X Boulevard and I-30.

The new center will include a new, expanded health clinic; a large wellness center; a versatile commercial production kitchen designed to instruct neighbors in healthy food preparation and training in culinary arts; robust employment training programs delivered in partnership with Workforce Solutions of Greater Dallas; an expanded food distribution center; a retail grocery store; a community garden and other training and life-improvement options.

Our initial partners in the endeavor include the Embrey Family Foundation, whose gift allowed us to assemble the property and PepsiCo whose commitment to improving the lives of urban residents has been extremely motivational for us. Numerous other philanthropists have joined the endeavor to move us to about the halfway mark in our funding efforts, including the Sowell Family Foundation, the Rees-Jones Foundation, the Halbert Family Foundation, Bank of America with others in process. Much more on this in coming days.

For today here are some images from the site.

"Opportunity Center" development underway!

Take a look at the video below to check in on the beginning demolition in preparation for Central Dallas Ministries' development of a new 50,000 square foot "Opportunity Center" at the corner of I-30 and Malcolm X Boulevard, a major gateway into South Dallas.

Thanks to a partnership anchored by the Embrey Family Foundation and PepsiCo, the new center will include a state-of-the-art health and wellness center; offices for Work Force Solutions of Greater Dallas; a training center for Central Dallas Ministries WorkPaths employment training program; a new, innovative food distribution center; teaching kitchens; new headquarters for our AmeriCorps team; a community garden and a retail grocery store. 

The center will open in January 2012. 

We're looking for "investment partners" for this work of faith. Interested? 

Can we connect the dots? Part I

A couple of days ago I visited one of the poorest neighborhoods in inner city Dallas, Texas.  A large scale community project was underway.  Over 100 volunteers from Home Depot worked side-by-side with the residents of the neighborhood to build a KaBoom! playground for the children who live there.  It was a very cool experience. 

As I drove away, my mind continued to spin. 

How do we change, reclaim and rebuild blighted areas like this one?  I know it takes leadership, and this community has that on the ground every day.  It also has a business champion (one of these posts I'll tell you about the particular, courageous leaders at work here) devoted to following the lead of the local leader. 

Still, substandard housing, lots of it rental and slumlord owned, dominates the streets.  Vacant lots abound.  People and work have basically disappeared over the past 40 years.  The schools are weak, the drop out rates extremely high and not improving.  Unemployment for those still living in the area is very high, and those who work don't earn enough to make life work, certainly not work well. 

Then, I think of the Louisiana coast, of New Orleans, of the fishing professionals who've been wiped out by the incredible BP spill into the Gulf of Mexico that now laps up into the wetlands and sweeps around the Florida coast on its way up the East Coast. 

I think of terrorists and oil imports and what seems to me to be clear connections. 

Somehow in the midst of all of this challenge, each of these large scale difficulties, swirling and seemingly disconnected, we may have a perfect storm brewing that will blow in great opportunity for bold, creative responses or one that will blow us further and further away from each other and down the wrong path. 

What we need in the neighborhoods and among the people with whom I work is heroic leadership willing to think with great, amazing creativity to connect the dots of opportunity that can be identified in the swirl of these seemingly desperate problems.  While the issues/challenges may seem disconnected, I'd argue that we dare not allow them to be viewed in isolation from one another. 

Drop in tomorrow for the rest of my ponderings. . .

CDM lands award for "digital connections" training for youth

Janet Morrison, Director of Education Outreach at Central Dallas Ministries, decided to write a grant to establish a "digital connectors" group in the Roseland Homes community to benefit teens involved in our educational efforts. 

Well, guess what?  Her grant was judged a winner and CDM received funding to provide this amazing training to our teens!

Wireless carrier companies donated $1 million to train 360 urban youth in the latest wireless and digital technologies. 

Learn more about the concept here.  Once at the site, scroll down the column on the left to "One Economy Wireless" to view the interview about the program and the awards.

Way to go, Janet!

CDM WorkPaths on Facebook

Interested in keeping up with Central Dallas Ministries' employment training division, otherwise known as WorkPaths?

Just check in on our new Facebook account right here!

You'll find a wealth of information and you'll be able to see what we're up to in the world of work!

Labor is sacred. Education and training, essential.

Climate impact on humans

The Global Humanitarian Forum's most recent report, "Climate Change responsible for 300,000 deaths a year," outlines the impact of climate change on human life.

The report is way beyond sobering. We have so many reasons to come together in community, both locally, nationally and around the world. Certainly, this report provides additional motivation of the most pressing sort.

Here are summary points to get your thoughts flowing:

--First ever report exclusively focused on the global human impact of climate change calculates more than 300 million people are seriously affected by climate change at a total economic cost of $125 billion per year

--Report projects that by 2030, worldwide deaths will reach almost 500,000 per year; people affected by climate change annually expected to rise to over 600 million and the total annual economic cost increase to around $300 billion

--To avert worst possible outcomes, climate change adaptation efforts need to be scaled up by a factor of 100 in developing countries, which account for 99% of casualties due to climate change

The full report goes on. . .

London 29 May – Kofi A. Annan, President of the Global Humanitarian Forum, today introduced a major new report into the human impact of climate change. The ‘Human Impact Report: Climate Change – The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis’ is the first ever comprehensive report looking at the human impact of climate change.

The report was issued immediately prior to official preparatory talks in Bonn for a new UN international climate agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. These talks will culminate at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. The report was reviewed by leading international experts, including Rajendra Pachauri of the IPCC, Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, and Barbara Stocking of Oxfam.

The report estimates that climate change today accounts for over 300,000 deaths throughout the world each year, the equivalent of an Indian Ocean Tsunami every single year. By 2030, the annual death toll from climate change will reach half a million people a year.

To read the entire report click here.

At Central Dallas Ministries, we are working right now on developing a job training program to go along with a possible business venture to bring solar power to low-income communities here in Dallas at a price point that makes sense.

Reactions to the need?
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Work

Central Dallas Ministries continues to put resources and substantial effort into training men and women for livable wage jobs.

CDM WorkPaths, under the direction of Gerald Britt and led by Andrea Bills, provides hard and soft skills training of various kinds for students interested in improving their ability to land better jobs.

What follows provides a live look into the world of WorkPaths. The video captures part of the excitement of graduation day for our latest construction trades class.

We are most fortunate to have great partners like the Construction Education Foundation, OAI, North Lake College, Riverside Church of Christ, Texas Capital Bank and many, many others who help deliver the goods to our students! I wish you could have been there last Thursday.

We are more committed than ever before to pursue the creation of more employment readiness products for the community.

People want to move forward. . .

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I should just stop typing right here!

Inner city residents want to advance. They want to work at decent jobs that offer a fair return for their labor.

These photos were taken recently at the Charlie Mae Ransom Technology Learning Center, Central Dallas Ministries' neighborhood workforce development center located in the Roseland Homes neighborhood.

The center is named for Ms. Charlie Mae Ransom (pictured last below with Lenora Holmes, CDM staff member), a resident of Roseland Homes for almost 65 years! Ms. Ransom is also my boss due to the fact that she serves on our Board of Directors.

The photos were taken during a visit by MicroSoft, our biggest supporter of the center.

Solid jobs

Nothing beats a good job.

Not just work, but a decent job, a job you enjoy, a job that pays a living wage for a hard days work.

Take a look at this group.

Talk about happy!

This is Central Dallas Ministries' latest construction trade skills training class at their graduation celebration upon the completion of 13 weeks of hard work and focused, hard-skills training.

CDM's WorkPaths initiative joins forces with OAI and the Construction Education Foundation and Brookhaven College to provide this training.

The result: most, if not all, our 18 graduates in this class will go to work immediately for contractors that will pay them between $12 and $16 an hour to start.

Happy, happy faces!

Accomplishment that counts. You should have seen the faces of the family members who witnessed the graduation.

Solid jobs.

That is real hope.



By the way, a huge thanks to the folks at the Riverside Church of Christ in Coppell, Texas. The brand new work clothes and boots that our students are sporting were provided by this great group again this class. Thanks so much!

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A chance to work and make a life. . .

Last Friday, I attended the graduation of our current WorkPaths class.

Teachers, family members and friends gathered to honor and to celebrate the accomplishments of twenty-two dedicated students who completed the arduous 12-week course that provided training in a full range of basic construction skills with an emphasis on hazardous waste and Brownfield remediation.

The training was challenging, rewarding and promising. Thanks to Andrea Bills, our program director, to Gerald Britt who provides leadership and vision for all of our Community Development Programs and to numerous staff members from several departments who are continually supportive of this part of our work.

As each of the students walked forward to receive their hard-won certificates, we could not contain our applause. What a celebration!

This week the students will return to the training center to meet with a number of contracting companies to interview for jobs that will pay them a livable wage and set them on a path for personal growth and the realization of better lives for themselves and their families.

The eagerness and excitement over their new found opportunity could not be contained. As I watched and listened, I realized I was observing a process that needs to be repeated thousands of times across the nation. Skill set development provides a pathway out of poverty. As communities, we must find ways to fund and deliver this sort of training to every man and woman who wants to do better with work and earning.

CDM provides this training (this was our second class to complete the course) thanks to funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Science. Our other partners were OAI, North Lake College/Dallas County Community College District, Construction Education Foundation of North Texas, and JPMorganChase.

The class members formed an amazing group.

Most were very young men.

One was a middle aged woman that everyone referred to as "Momma" by the end of class.

Many had been incarcerated in Texas prisons in a past life--ex-offenders.

One was homeless, recruited to the class while attending one of our Urban Engagement Book Club meetings!


All had learned the benefit and the necessity of helping each other as a team or community in the learning process.

The graduation celebration spoke volumes about hope, achievement and visions for better tomorrows!

I was more than honored to be in the room.