SAN DIEGO — San Diego Foundation has been committed to strengthening and building resilient communities. They stepped up in a big way to help small businesses and non-profits during the pandemic.
And thanks to a new wave of grants, they are helping give young adults the tools they need to secure career opportunities in the growing green economy.
Urban Corps of San Diego County CEO Kyle Kennedy joins our Laura Cavanaugh to share how Urban Corps is giving young adults second chances, by helping them upskill, earn their diploma and receive paid work experience, while also enhancing the San Diego community.
Urban Corps of San Diego County is a non-profit conservation corps and charter school whose mission is to provide young adults ages 18-26 an opportunity to earn their high school diploma while expanding their career opportunities through education, life skills training and paid work experience on projects that benefit the community. As a Corpsmember, youth attend school one day a week at their on-site charter school and receive paid job training the other four days.
San Diego Foundation has been a valued community partner. In 2020, Urban Corps was awarded $150,000 from the San Diego Foundation’s COVID-19 Community Response Fund created in part with donations from San Diego Gas & Electric. This grant was to get young people back to work and teach them job skills in wildfire safety. Corpsmembers created 100 feet of defensible space around high-risk homes of elderly and low-income homeowners.
In April, San Diego Foundation awarded Urban Corps a $20,000 grant through a collaborative effort with the County of San Diego to strengthen green workforce development opportunities for young adults in Chula Vista, Escondido and Vista.
With the funding, Corpsmembers will be trained and earn certifications that are needed to be placed in green jobs with the County of San Diego when they graduate from the program.
To learn more, visit www.urbancorpssd.org
San Diego Foundation supports non-profits that serve the San Diego community.
For more information, visit www.sdfoundation.org
Sponsored by: San Diego Foundation