JOIN Funding Collaborative Connects Philadelphia Workers to Living-Wage Green, Healthcare...

JOIN Funding Collaborative Connects Philadelphia Workers to Living-Wage Green,
Healthcare Jobs

PHILADELPHIA, June 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Job Opportunity Investment
Network (JOIN) today announced new grants totaling $850,000 for initiatives
that will qualify more of the region's underemployed workers and new job
seekers for living-wage jobs in the "green" and health care industries. JOIN,
a regional funding collaborative founded in 2008, will invest at least $2.7
million to increase the number of workers in the Greater Philadelphia area who
earn family-sustaining wages.

Living Cities, an innovative philanthropic collaborative of 21 of the world's
largest foundations and financial institutions, awarded JOIN a grant of
$250,000 for an initiative to prepare low-skilled job seekers for employment
in the clean energy sector. This pilot project, under the leadership of one
of JOIN's founding partners, the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board,
brings together the Smart Energy Initiative of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the
Federation of Neighborhood Centers and three of its member agencies
(Diversified Community Services, Friends Neighborhood Guild, and United
Communities Southeast Philadelphia), and the City of Philadelphia to ensure
low-skilled adults have access to well-paying jobs and advancement
opportunities in this emerging industry. Specifically, the grant will support
the development and implementation of a coordinated infrastructure to assess
new and marginally employed Philadelphia workers and connect them to pipelines
for advancement in green jobs. Grant activities begin in May 2009, and will
continue through August 2010.

JOIN has awarded $300,000 over three years to each of two Industry
Partnerships, The Pennsylvania Partnership for Direct Care Workers, managed by
the District 1199C Training and Upgrading Fund, and the Delaware County Health
Care Employers Consortium, managed by Pathways PA. The grants will fund
initiatives to qualify unemployed adults and workers in low-skill, low-wage
jobs for higher-skill positions in allied health and nursing that pay
family-sustaining wages. The initiatives will help meet the needs of health
care providers, which are currently facing critical shortages of qualified
allied health and nursing professionals.

"The JOIN grant will enable us to provide entry-level health care workers with
the significant supports they need to move up the career ladder and earn
family-sustaining wages," said Cheryl Feldman, Executive Director of District
1199C Training and Upgrading Fund. "It's a win-win for workers and
employers."

Industry Partnerships include groups of employers and workers from within the
same industry, collaborating with education and training providers to address
employers' common workforce needs. "For the past several years, Industry
Partnerships across the region have been helping employers in key sectors
train their current workers, and both the employers and workers have benefited
greatly," said Laura Boyce, Director of United Way of Southeastern
Pennsylvania's financial stability initiatives. "JOIN is investing in those
same Partnerships, inspiring them to replicate their previous successes with
new and underemployed workers."

The need is great. According to a study released this month by PathWays PA, a
third of Philadelphia households and more than one out of every five Delaware
County households lacks income sufficient to meet basic family needs. Forty
percent of working Philadelphians are earning poverty wages, and 36% have
found only part-time work. More than 60% of Philadelphia adults are
classified as "low-literate."

The Founding Partners in this public-private initiative are the John S. and
James L. Knight Foundation, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, The
William Penn Foundation, the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, and the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department of Labor and Industry. JOIN is also
supported by contributions from the National Fund for Workforce Solutions and
Living Cities.

United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania
United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania is part of a national network of more
than 1,300 locally governed organizations that work to create lasting positive
changes in communities and in people's lives. United Way engages the community
to identify the underlying causes of the most significant local issues,
develops strategies and pulls together financial and human resources to
address them, and measure the results. United Way is advancing the common good
in southeastern Pennsylvania by focusing on education for children, income for
families and health for seniors. For more information about United Way, please
visit: www.LIVEUNITEDsepa.org.

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism
worldwide and invests in the vitality of the U.S. communities where the Knight
brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects with the
potential to create transformational change. For more, visit
www.knightfoundation.org.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry is the state agency dedicated
to improving the quality of life and economic security of Pennsylvania's
workers and businesses. Through a variety of programs, services and
initiatives, Labor & Industry works to create a highly educated and skilled
workforce to help the commonwealth's businesses remain competitive in the
global economy. Learn more about the Pennsylvania Department of Labor &
Industry and Workforce Development by visiting www.state.pa.us or
www.paworkforce.state.pa.us.

Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board
Founded in 1999, the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board is a volunteer
commission appointed by the Mayor of Philadelphia with the legislated
responsibility to govern the public workforce system in the city, including
the CareerLink Centers. The organization that supports the commission -
Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, Inc. - provides expertise in all
facets of workforce development, and works to align the skills of the region's
labor force to meet the needs of industry, ultimately supporting the region's
growth and prosperity. The organization's vision is a thriving and inclusive
regional economy and its mission is to advocate and advance a demand-driven
opportunity agenda that effectively prepares Philadelphians to compete in the
economic mainstream.

William Penn Foundation
The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, is
dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Greater Philadelphia region
through efforts that foster rich cultural expression, strengthen children's
futures, and deepen connections to nature and community. In partnership with
others, the Foundation works to advance a vital, just, and caring community.
Learn more about the Foundation online at www.williampennfoundation.org.

Living Cities
Founded in 1991, Living Cities is an innovative philanthropic collaborative of
21 of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions. Living
Cities members participate at the senior management level on the
organization's board of directors and contribute the time of more than 80
expert staff toward crafting and implementing the Living Cities agenda, which
is focused on improving the lives of low-income people and the urban areas in
which they live. Over the past 18 years, Living Cities members have
collectively invested over $600 million which has, in turn, leveraged more
than $16 billion in tangible community assets--a remarkable leverage ratio of
29:1. This funding has helped build homes, stores, schools, child care, health
care and job-training centers and other community assets.

National Fund for Workforce Solutions
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS) is a five-year, $30 million
effort to strengthen and expand high-impact workforce development initiatives
around the country. NFWS is dedicated to moving America's low wage workforce
into higher paying jobs, while providing employers with the skilled workers
they need. NFWS is supported by the Annie E. Casey, Ford, Hitachi, John S. and
James L. Knight, Prudential and The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundations,
Microsoft Corp., and the U.S. Department of Labor. Jobs for the Future and the
Council on Foundations are national partners with the National Fund for
Workforce Solutions.

SOURCE United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Emily E. RosenBerg of United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, W:
+1-215-665-2509, C: +1-215-906-6310, emilyr@uwsepa.org