Construction Corner Quarterly Newsletter |
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From the desk of Pat Daniels, Executive Director |
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Greetings,
I hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer. The warm weather and lifting pandemic restrictions are allowing us all to get out and about a bit more. June was a busy, and inspiring month at Constructing Hope. We held our first in-person Mentoring Event, in the parking lot of Miller Paint and boy did it feel good to be back in person with our graduates and community partners! A special thank you to the Home Builder's Foundation, who served as co-host of the inspiring event and NW Natural who provided tents, sack dinners and waters. Our 2nd Annual Leveling the Playing Field Campaign was a wonderful opportunity for us to continue to increase awareness of our life-changing work here in the community, and raise much needed funds. I am so grateful for our champions, Dave and Glenn Dahl who each stepped up with a matching gift challenge this year, which inspired generous donations from both individuals and corporations. The funds raised are a true investment in our students and graduates' futures. I'm happy to share that so far in 2021 we have graduated 25 pre-apprenticeship trainees. To date these graduates are working as follows: 11 are Apprentices, 2 are Material Handlers, 6 are working in Pathway Jobs and 2 in Non-Trade Jobs.
There is still so much brewing at Constructing Hope! Planning is underway for our new Green Training Program with the Portland Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program Consortium. Our Summer 2021 Pre-Apprenticeship Class is underway. Work continues on our Workforce Training Center Expansion project, and we can't wait to get back in the building with our students this Fall. It was a pleasure to share a sneak peek of our project with some of our community at our Expansion Reveal Event in mid-July. I look forward to having you stop by once we're moved back in to check it out!
We continue to remain in an exciting period of growth at Constructing Hope, that also includes our team. In the last few months we have welcomed a number of new members to our staff team: Greg Wooley, Green Training Consortium Facilitator; Abigail Morishige, Marketing Manager; and Amanda Webber, Executive Assistant. Kat Finseth is also joining us for the summer as our Development & Marketing Intern through the University of Oregon's Portland Internship Experience. I'd also like to recognize recent promotions: Bobby Hamilton is now Program Manager, and Irvin Brown is Program Administrator. We are in the process of filling the vacant Case Manager and Outreach & Recruitment Specialist roles.
I remain humbled and grateful for the many partners that we have by our side, as we continue our work to change lives, while helping to train the construction industry workforce of the future.
With gratitude,
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Quarterly Mentoring Event |
We were thrilled to be back in person for this quarter's Building Community Connections with Constructing Hope: A Mentoring Event.
A special thank you to Home Builders Foundation for sponsoring the event, Miller Paint for hosting us in their parking lot and NW Natural for the tent, food and water to keep our guests cool on the hot evening.
Speakers included Brenda Ketah, Home Builders Foundation Executive Director; Nathan Young with MODS PDX and Nathan D. Young Construction and Darci Fredricks with California Closets. Attendees also had a chance to hear from Irvin Brown, Constructing Hope Program Administrator and graduates Jani Turner, Apprenticeship Coordinator with LiUNA 737 and TK Kalimafoni, residential contractor.
Our next mentoring event, Finding Connections for the Path to Financial Stability & Homeownership is coming up! Speakers will include Daniel Lechuga with the African American Alliance of Homeownership; Charles Bishop, Personal Financial Advisor and Constructing Hope graduates, Vic Liang and Randall Cooley. See below for more details or contact Barbara at barbaras@constructinghope.org
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Workforce Training Center Expansion Nears Completion
We were thrilled to share a sneak peek of our Workforce Training Center Expansion Project with some of our community on July 15. Guests were taken on a room by room tour of the facility, able to review renderings of what each space will look like when works concludes, and we officially move back in this Fall. Check out photos from the event here.
The project expands our facility from 4,318 to 5,595 square feet. The expanded state of the art training facility will make possible additional training opportunities, and also provide the physical space for program expansion; accommodating up to 45 students per class.
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Thank you for helping us to Level the Playing Field! |
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The 2nd Annual Leveling the Playing Field Campaign was held during the month of June this year. The virtual campaign is held to increase awareness of our work in the community, and to raise funds to continue our impact on the lives of our graduates and their families. We are thrilled to share that we raised more than $140,000, which will cover the cost of 11 pre-apprenticeship participants. Our investment in each participant begins at enrollment, and includes training, certifications, support services and career advancement and mentorship for 3 years. These funds are an investment in the lives of our graduates like Veral, Jani, Lawrence and Edward and their family members, and we are grateful for our community's support. This year's campaign was featured on KGW, in the Portland Business Journal and on the Citizen Smith podcast.
We would like to extend our gratitude to Constructing Hope Champion, Dave Dahl and his brother Glenn for their $25,000 match challenge gifts, that helped to inspire such generosity from our community. We are also grateful for the support of our campaign sponsors: Hoffman Construction, IBEW Local 48, Andersen Construction, Northwest Carpenter's Union, Pence Construction, Raimore Construction, UA 290, Bremik, LIUNA! Local 737, Perlo Construction and Howard S. Wright. These generous sponsors serve as the foundation of our month-long campaign, and we are honored to have them by our side in our work to Level the Playing Field.
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Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program Update |
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Our Spring 2021 class celebrated completion of the program with a virtual graduation back in June. The event included a keynote address from Jerome Brooks, Social & Community Impact Manager, Inclusive Communities at Nike, Inc. as well as a video message from Constructing Hope graduate Lawrence Archer.
Our 2021 graduates to date have been getting to work quickly. Of the 25 graduates from Winter and Spring 2021, 11 are now apprentices, 2 are material handlers, 6 are in pathway jobs and 2 are in non trade jobs. We look forward to what the future holds for each of our graduates!
Our Summer 2021 class is half-way through their pre-apprenticeship training. We are excited to celebrate their graduation on August 31, and look forward to sharing updates on their career paths in the next quarterly newsletter.
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July 2021 Story of Hope: Charles - Fall 2016 Graduate |
Charles was just 17 when he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. When he was released after 31 years, his felony record and lack of experience were both obstacles as he tried to find work. Charles then had to work part time while caring for his mother, who had recently had a stroke and been diagnosed with dementia.
However, his life changed when he heard of Constructing Hope. He graduated Tier 1 and immediately entered the carpenter’s union. In the past year, he volunteered to take extra courses on welding, foreman’s leadership, and rigging and signaling. Charles hopes to one day start his own business that caters specifically on non-profit contracting.
To Charles, Constructing Hope truly changed his life. The program instilled a sense of work ethic, consistency, and competence that prepared Charles for his current career as a 7th term carpenter’s apprentice. He says that as a graduate of the program, he “has a lot of tools in my toolbox” and is grateful for all the support and training that Constructing Hope provided him.
To read more of Charles's inspiring story, visit the Stories of Hope section on our website.
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- August 9: Application deadline for Fall Pre-Apprenticeship Training Class
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August 18: Constructing Hope Mentoring Event
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August 31, 5:30-7:00 pm: Summer Graduation
- September 7: Fall Pre-Apprenticeship Training Class begins!
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September 21 6:00-7:00 pm : Virtual Building Equity Program Information Session
- November 2: Constructing Hope Mentoring Event
- November 16, 5:30-7:00: Fall Graduation
Visit our Calendar for additional events!
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Constructing Hope | 405 NE Church St., Portland, Oregon 97211 |
Phone: (503) 281-1234 | Fax: (503) 719-7685
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