Funds will allow the nonprofit program to connect more young people in the region with meaningful wage careers in high-growth industries
NEW YORK (PRWEB) DECEMBER 22, 2020
Year Up New York | New Jersey, a nonprofit program that provides young adults with the skills, experience, and support to reach their full potential, announced today that it has received a $250,000 grant from the New York Jets as part of the team’s social justice, inclusion and diversity efforts.
The grant will support Year Up New York | New Jersey’s ongoing efforts to provide intensive training and internship programs for young adults, with the goal of moving them from minimum wage to meaningful careers in one year. More than 90 percent of Year Up students identify as a person of color.
In addition to the grant, New York Jets players, coaches and staff will be able to volunteer their time and expertise at Year Up.
Year Up graduate Jazmin Severino, a System Support Specialist at the New York Jets, recommended the nonprofit to the team, embodying the Year Up alumni motto to “lift while you climb.”
“Thanks to Jazmin’s advocacy and generous support from the New York Jets, Year Up New York | New Jersey will be able to serve even more young people in the region who have the talent and motivation to succeed but lack access to opportunity,” said Nadine Sylvester Crammer, Year Up New York | New Jersey Site Director. “The ongoing crisis has had a huge disproportionate impact on Black and Latinx young adults, and this grant will help empower them to launch meaningful careers at top companies as we continue working to advance racial and economic justice in corporate America.”
The $250,000 grant to Year Up New York | New Jersey is part of the New York Jets’ $1,000,000 donation to four partner organizations that share the goal of reducing barriers and creating opportunities for individuals in need.
“We wanted to contribute to these organizations and help push our community forward. It is our hope through these partnerships that we can positively affect the access, equity and rights of those in need,” said New York Jets President Hymie Elhai.
Nationwide, 90 percent of Year Up graduates are employed or attending college within four months of completing the program, with average starting salaries of $42,000/year. In 2018, the federally-sponsored Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) evaluation of Year Up showed a 53% increase in initial earnings for young adults randomly assigned to Year Up compared with similar young adults in a control group—the largest impact on earnings reported to date for a workforce program tested in a randomized controlled trial.