SOMERVILLE, Mass., October 10, 2019 — YouthBuild USA celebrated its 14th annual “Building Better Together” fundraiser on Thursday, October 3rd, at Goulston & Storrs in Boston.
The evening event benefited YouthBuild USA, which supports a nationwide network of over 250 comprehensive youth service programs that enable out-of-school, unemployed young people ages 16 to 24 to reclaim their education, gain the skills needed for employment and become leaders in their communities.
In his opening remarks, YouthBuild USA CEO John Valverde highlighted the organization’s tremendous impact on young people and local communities. “In YouthBuild programs, young people develop the skillsets and mindsets they need to make a positive impact in their families, communities and the world,” Valverde said. “Our secret sauce is the sense of worthiness, belonging and community our young people experience when they enter our doors. They know we believe in them, respect them and love them.”
This year’s special guest speaker was Trevor Samios, Vice President of Connected Communities at WinnCompanies. YouthBuild students and graduates shared their stories of transformation, including Luis Pizzaro, a current student at YouthBuild North Shore CDC; Amanda Koko’o, a current student at YouthBuild Fall River; and Kimberly Dalton, a graduate of YouthBuild Fall River.
“I was part of the first graduating class of YouthBuild Fall River in 2006,” Dalton said. “YouthBuild has given me the opportunity to see things that I didn’t even get to see within myself. With your continued support for YouthBuild, we can continue this movement of changing young folks’ lives and giving them an opportunity that maybe they don’t see in themselves right now.”
The event was generously presented by Rockport Mortgage Corp. Lead sponsors included The Abrams Management Co. Inc., Corcoran Jennison Companies, Homesite Insurance, and WinnCompanies. Sponsors were Boston Private, Cranshaw Construction, Goulston & Storrs, Holland & Knight, Keith Construction Inc., Liberty Mutual Insurance, Nixon Peabody, The Schochet Companies, and The Architectural Team.
Host sponsors included AAFCPAs, Belveron Partners, Boston Financial Investment Management, CBT, Lee Kennedy Co. Inc., Preservation of Affordable Housing, Rockland Trust Bank, Shara Lewis Associates, Stantec, Van Emden Management Corp., and Wingate Companies.
About YouthBuild USA
YouthBuild USA is the nonprofit support center for 300 local YouthBuild programs operating in 21 countries, with 252 programs in 46 U.S. states and 48 programs in 20 other countries. In YouthBuild programs, unemployed, low-income, and out-of-school young people ages 16 to 24 work toward their high school diploma or equivalency, while learning job skills by building affordable housing and other community assets in their neighborhoods and engaging in community service and leadership training. Proven effective by the most rigorous program evaluation research, YouthBuild’s comprehensive model gives graduates the confidence and tools they need to become strong, responsible, and ethical young leaders. For more information, visit www.youthbuild.org.
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