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With a recent grant from The Boston Foundation, the total amount raised by North Bennet Street School for its Workforce Development/Diversity Initiative has reached nearly $500,000.

“Over the past five years, support for this important program has been provided by a large number of local foundations in addition to The Boston Foundation.” said Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ President. “It is an impressive demonstration of the ability of local foundations both large and small to work together in a cooperative fashion to fund programs that reflect their shared interest in the needs of the community.”

The Workforce Development/Diversity Initiative provides young adults from Boston’s schools and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods with a viable pathway from high school or the unskilled labor force to meaningful, lifetime employment. The program makes it possible for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ to offer scholarships and funds for tools and materials, as well as support services critical to students’ success such as a financial literacy workshop and a mentoring program for enrolled students and graduates.

The Initiative has benefited students such as Aramarie Colon, a 2015 graduate of the Locksmithing and Security Technology program. Aramarie was in the Facilities Management program at Madison Park Vocational Technical High School. She attended ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ to increase her qualifications as a facility manager. She says that while facilities management and locksmithing are ‘male dominated’ fields, she wants to be a role model for other girls and women. Aramarie is also a graduate of the neighboring Eliot K-8 Innovation School, a long-time partner with North Bennet Street School in cooperative educational programs.

• Additional supporters of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Workforce Development Diversity Initiative include:
• BNY Mellon/ Peter E. Strauss Trust
• Cabot Family Charitable Trust
• Esther B. Kahn Charitable Foundation
• Liberty Mutual Foundation
• Massachusetts Charitable Society
• The James C. Melvin Trust
• Thomas Anthony Pappas Charitable Foundation
• Mabel Louise Riley Foundation
• Adelard A. Roy and Valeda Lea Roy Foundation
• William E. Schrafft and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust
• F. Roscoe and Vila B. Webber 1974 Charitable Trust
• Vila B. Webber 1985 Charitable Trust

For more information regarding the Workforce Development/Diversity Initiative, contact Melissa Gallin, Director of Institutional Support at mgallin@nbss.edu/617-227-0155 x175.