|
Scholarships Help Job Corps Grads Start Housing Careers
Home Builders Institute electrical instructor John Gaddis recently helped four of his Golconda Job Corps Center graduates secure HBI/Lowe’s Building Careers Scholarships to purchase cars to commute to their new jobs with Helix Electric in Las Vegas.
The Building Careers scholarship was established to help Job Corps graduates defray job-related costs that can overwhelm students with limited financial resources as they are just beginning their careers. The funds are also used for school tuition and books by students who choose to further their education and training.
When making the transition to jobs in the construction industry, transportation is often the most pressing need for the young graduates because their work sites can be located a considerable distance from their homes.
Relocating from Illinois to Nevada, Patrick McCarthy, Jonathan Ramirez, Antwaan Thompson and Jacuna White also used their $1,000 scholarship awards to help pay for rent, food and gas. Fittingly, their first project with Helix Electric is a six-month effort to build a new Lowe’s lumber store in Las Vegas.
“These four young men had meaningful jobs with prime contractors lined up,” said Gaddis. “They just need a little help to get them there. That’s where the Lowe’s scholarships are indispensable.”
“I cannot thank these two great organizations enough,” Ramirez wrote in a letter to HBI. “The doors unlocked by HBI and Lowe’s have helped me move my life forward.” In a similar letter of thanks, McCarthy noted that the “generous support” had helped “me start my new life.”
Since 2004, Lowe’s has contributed $150,000 to the scholarship program, which has provided assistance to nearly 100 students entering the construction workforce.
HBI, the workforce development arm of NAHB, trains and places more than 2,000 Job Corps students in industry jobs each year.
For more information on the HBI/Lowe’s Building Career Scholarship and Job Corps, e-mail Maria McIntyre at HBI, or call her at McIntyre at 800-795-7955 x8912.
|
