YWCA Greater Los Angeles Earns $82 Million Labor Department Stimulus Grant to Fund Job Corps Campus Housing

YWCA Greater Los Angeles Earns $82 Million Labor Department Stimulus Grant to
Fund Job Corps Campus Housing
Grant will Bring Construction Jobs to Downtown Los Angeles and Empower Local
At-Risk Youth to Become Stable, Employed, Self Sufficient Citizens

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The YWCA Greater Los Angeles (YWCA GLA)
has a history of embarking on Herculean endeavors in the name of service and
protecting the least of us within the larger community. Building on its 115
year mission to eliminate racism, empower women, champion human rights and
strengthen all Americans' access to the American Dream, YWCA GLA CEO Faye
Washington was proud to announce the award of an $82 million American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act grant for the YWCA GLA Job Corps housing. Washington
considers this award representative of her long time vision of "raising the
expectation" and "changing the paradigm" of how non profit fundraising is
done. Washington said, "It requires just as much work to pursue a million
dollar grant as it does a 100 million dollar grant and because of the urgency
of our mission to move our community forward, I am not afraid of the extra
'zeros.' My vision is to create fundraising partnerships that sustain a
generation."

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091112/LA10044-a)
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091112/LA10044-b)
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090917/LA76913-a)

The U.S. Department of Labor signed a groundbreaking 20-year, $82 million
lease agreement for the YWCA GLA Urban Campus facility. This development is
part of the $700 billion-plus stimulus package that was recently approved by
Congress and is part of what President Obama has called "shovel ready"
projects. Shovel ready projects refer to projects that have all planning and
approvals complete and are ready to begin construction. The funds will go
toward the development of the YWCA Job Corps' Urban Campus, located in
downtown Los Angeles.

The Urban Campus will be centered in the heart of downtown Los Angeles' South
Park business district. The 154,000 square foot building will contain a state
of the art library, computer lab, modernized medical and dental clinic and
infirmary, classrooms and residential units for 400 students. Construction of
the new building is the second milestone in a three-phase YWCA GLA Urban
Campus Master Plan to include commercial/retail uses and affordable housing.
Over 900 jobs will be generated by the construction related costs for the new
building. Washington says, "One of the most groundbreaking endeavors of the
construction activity is that the Job Corps students will actually participate
in the construction of the building. We have approximately 60 apprenticeship
slots for our Job Corps students to actively participate in the construction
of their new campus." The YWCA GLA Urban Campus Master Plan provides for
transitional housing for up to 24 months, while participants obtain jobs and
implement the successful life skills they have learned.

The YWCA GLA has served the LA area since 1894 and began administering the Los
Angeles Job Corps Program in 1965. It provides residential and
non-residential programming at no cost to homeless, emancipated, and at-risk
youth ages 16-24. Job Corps employs a holistic career development training
model that integrates the teaching of academic, vocational, employability
skills, social competencies and wellness/health services. It leverages
formal and informal partnerships with many businesses, employers, training
facilities and community organizations to deliver its comprehensive service
model, which includes job placement.

Washington explained, "This center is strategically located to job centers at
the hub of the downtown Los Angeles renaissance. Local downtown businesses
will greatly benefit from our highly trained Job Corps graduates as future
employees to remain competitive. We are even set up to allow local businesses
who are serious about hiring our Job Corps students to provide us with
training modules, so the students graduate with skills specific to their
needs."

Construction of the seven-story building begins this month and will conclude
in the fall of 2011. "This plan meets the objectives of all parties; job
placement, economic stability and societal benefits derived from individuals
gainfully employed. When construction begins this month, we will enter into
an exciting new phase for the YWCA GLA and the downtown area." Washington
added, "Now that our building is funded and paid for, I invite local
businesses to partner with us on the funding of the programming. Charitable
giving is the ultimate investment in our community, our country's quality of
life, competitiveness and humanitarian leadership."

For more information on becoming a part of this exciting endeavor, please
visit www.ywcagla.org or call 213-365-2991, ext 1328.

SOURCE The YWCA Greater Los Angeles

Jeanine Taylor of JCEC Public Relations, +1-213-271-7134, jcecpr@gmail.com,
for the YWCA Greater Los Angeles