Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina has received a $50,000 grant from the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation to support the OneLife Youth Program, which operates from Goodwill's Asheville Workforce Development Center.
OneLife serves youth ages 14-21 in the Asheville/Buncombe
County area. Participating youth receive the career planning, financial
literacy, real-life preparation, coaching, tutoring, workplace mentoring and
job placement services necessary to graduate from high school and successfully
chart a future career. OneLife reaches students at Enka, Erwin, North
Buncombe and Owen high schools.
The grant
will fund the annual cost of a full-time staff person to work with OneLife,
allowing Goodwill to provide additional support to the expanding program. Last
year the program served 24 students. Because of the grant, Goodwill has now
enrolled 55 students total in OneLife. Of that group, 12 students who
demonstrate leadership potential will be selected to join the program’s Teen
Leadership Academy, an intensive training in leading others and acting as
positive role models for their peers.
“OneLife,
reaches high school students who are ‘flying under the radar,’ helping them
explore potential careers through internships and leadership opportunities,”
says Joshua Pierce, Goodwill’s director of workforce development. “This grant
will allow us to positively impact even more of these youth, preparing them for
college and greater success in life. We are tremendously grateful to the
Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation for their support.”
About the Sisters of Mercy of
North Carolina Foundation:
The Sisters
of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation, Inc. operates exclusively for the
benefit and support of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas South Central
Community and assists it in furthering its charitable, religious and
educational mission. The Foundation is managed in accordance with the teachings
and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and the Institute of the Sisters of
Mercy of the Americas. Animated by the Gospel and Catherine McAuley's passion
for those who are poor, the Foundation seeks to promote systemic change and
assist individuals to empower themselves, especially women, children and those
who are elderly, to improve the quality of their lives.
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