Posts by bb4b_linda

For publication:   February 24, 2020 This is a presentation by Dollar Bank for EITC funding that was allocated to Sto-Rox Jr/Sr High School. Mr. Jeffrey Robol and Mr. Tim Ayersman from Dollar Bank presented Mr. Scott Albert with a check that provides Sto-Rox Jr/Sr High School the opportunity to participate in the U Can B Program.   Mr. Albert provides guest speakers to Mrs. Marshall’s Career and Entrepreneurship classes as well as walks them through several online activities to enhance their career and academic research.    Pictured above is Scott Albert, Jeffrey Robol, Tim Ayersman, Dawn Marshall and State Rep Anita Kulik.   Entrepreneurs and businesspeople, along with the non-profit organization Building Bridges for Business, are giving local students the chance to see what life is like after high school and college. The U can B Curriculum is tailored to meet our school’s needs, and allows each curriculum component to be expanded or contracted to fit within a specific number of weeks based on the strengths and weaknesses of the class. Classes included in the U can B curriculum include: Entrepreneurship Trades and Careers in the Trades Technology – Website design and SEO Technology – Careers in IT and web design Technology – Graphic Design and Animation Film, Television and New Media Science – Green and Sustainable practices and careers Science – Veterinarian Study and Animal Related Careers Science – Healthcare and Careers in Healthcare Government and Politics U can B – Career Preparation and Networking U can B – Soft skills and Leadership and...

  UcanB kicked off its 5th year at This Pittsburgh High School in October. This year’s #UcanB Career Education Program featured a series of STEM teachers and guest speakers who visited The Business & Career Planning Class on a bi-weekly basis throughout the school year. Presentation topics will include Science, Entrepreneurship, Business Ethics, Careers in IT, Careers in Criminal Justice and more!...

Advantages Of Online Learning It’s the time of year when people look back on 2018 and begin planning their training needs for 2019. To any business, knowledge is its greatest asset and the biggest key to achieving business goals. How can you better prepare your teams to perform in a highly competitive environment? Through training. During our in person events, we often hear questions about how to start a business, should I start a non-profit, do you know a good CPA, who is good at raising funds? In 2019, we are committed to providing you with online resources. We reviewed many online learning platforms, took the courses ourselves and are now offering online courses. Check out our on-line course tab on our website. All courses… • are designed for a wide array of learners • combine interactive exercises, videos, and real-world examples or case studies • provides access to an expert in a related field who will answer your questions within 24-hours—through “Ask the Expert” feature • have been approved for CFRE and/or CEU credits among others • are available 24/7 via the Mobile app What are the top 5 benefits of on-line learning? 1. You can learn whatever you want! With online education, you can take any program or course present in traditional four-year universities. For example, let’s say you’re mostly interested in starting a non profit or growing your for – profit business. All it takes is a Google search for such online course, and you’ll easily find the online programs offered by some of the most prestigious universities from all around the world. The great variety of online programs and courses is a huge advantage of this type of education. It doesn’t matter where you live and what you want to study – you can always find a suitable course or even a degree program that you can follow from home. 2. Comfort. Forget about attending classes for hours, sitting in an uncomfortable chair, and suffering from back pain by the end of the day. You will not be bound to physical class session when you opt for online education. All lectures and needed materials are provided via online platforms, so you’ll easily access them from the comfort of your home. 3. Online courses look great on a resume. It doesn’t matter where your career stands at this moment; an online program will always look good on your resume. It will show potential employers that you’re committed to learning and you’re eager to obtain more knowledge and new skills. 4. Self-paced...

https://www.givebigpittsburgh.com/organizations/building-bridges-for-business     Thanks to you 19,427 students across the region received UcanB career education and FREE online career portfolios last year. On behalf of them, thank you for supporting career education for our youth. This year-end, we are fortunate to have a donor who will match 100% of the donations received in our online campaign. I recently helped a young lady named Diamond, find a job right out of high school We hosted a job fair after providing career education and soft skills courses at her school for the entire school year. Diamond knew that college wasn’t the next step and was able to get a good paying job close to her home. Without your help, Diamond and many other children may not have the resources to find career help. Today, she is working and planning her next career move. The stories range from very challenged communities to well-supported communities. As we all know, the more great advice and support, students and families receive the better their future will be. Every day, your support makes stories like Diamond’s possible. Today, we’re launching our 2018 Year-End Campaign. Our goal is to help an additional 5,000 students get additional career education, hands-on activities, online career portfolios, and interactive discussions and even lunch with industry experts. You see, even though we helped over 19,000 students last year there are still thousands of students that we couldn’t help because we don’t have the resources to do so. Thank you for your support.  ...

#UcanB continues to serve as the organization’s flagship program. Over 100 local businesses, non-profits, schools and government agencies participated in this year’s #UcanB Program. Our partners at US Probation & Pretrial Services continued to speak with our students about Careers in Criminal Justice; and this year the US Probation team expanded its scope of service to include presentations on Internet Safety, Keeping a Clean Criminal Record and more. The staff at UPMC deployed speakers into our classrooms: a nurse visited students to discuss the Realities of Direct Care, and a member of the executive team gave a Corporate Overview of a Large Health System. Students and staff from schools such as Penn State University, The University of Pittsburgh, Bidwell Training Center, Point Park University and New Century Careers all spoke with and met with #UcanB students to share information on higher education options. Western Pa’s Trade Unions and Apprenticeship Programs all got involved this year as representatives from the electrician’s, carpenter’s, sheet metal worker’s, laborer’s, heavy equipment operators’, iron worker’s and painter’s unions all visited #UcanB students! Local school district’s embraced the #UcanB Program like never before. PA Department of Education’s passing of the Career Education & Work Readiness (CEW) Standards required schools to provide intensive career services. Many of the school systems had never provided career courses. #UcanB’s existing school partners helped fine-tune services provided specifically to 8th and 11th grade students as these are targeted age groups for the CEW standards. Hopewell, Shaler and Pittsburgh Public Schools put together schedules for ALL 8th grade students to participate in #UcanB’s Career Portfolio and Career Assessment classes. Sto-Rox High School, Carlynton High School and Clayton Academy partnered with #UcanB to organize Hiring Events and Career Fairs to meet the employment needs of upperclassmen in the high schools. Springdale High School partnered with #UcanB to create a Lunch ‘n’ Learn series for 11th grade students. #UcanB greatly increased the number of service hours provided to many of its existing school districts, but still managed to forge new partnerships with schools in the Chartiers Valley, Springdale and Pittsburgh Public School districts. In addition, #UcanB has initiated plans to expand into the following areas this coming school year: Pittsburgh’s Hill District, East Liberty, Northgate, Pittsburgh’s Allderdice High School, CAPA and Avalon High School. Workforce Development Program Summary While #UcanB met the needs of dozens of school districts and thousands of local students, Building Bridges’ Workforce Development Team continued to provide employment and training opportunities to the community at-large. The Workforce Team expanded its efforts with State Representative Dan Deasy to provide job placement to residents of Pittsburgh’s West End communities. Workforce Development also continued its partnership with US Probation & Pretrial Services of Western PA to help serve the needs of men and women returning home from prison to Pittsburgh neighborhoods. The year concluded for Building Bridges for Business’ Workforce Development Program with two days of pre-release employment seminars at the Bureau of Prisons location in Morgantown, WV. The Pittsburgh Business Community supported workforce development activities in a similar fashion to the support it provided to #UcanB. Businesses and organizations, large and small, joined Building Bridges for Career and Hiring Events in Beechview, West End, West View and Northside. I.B.E.W. Local 5, The Builders Guild of Western PA, Allegheny County Sheriffs, Pittsburgh Police, FedEx and IBEX Global were among the employers who interviewed candidates at bi-weekly meetings hosted by Rep. Deasy. Fifty local non-profits joined US Probation and Building Bridges at this year’s Community Resource Fair hosted by the US District Court of Western PA. Vocational Schools such as Brightwood Career Institute, Career Training Academy and Bidwell Training Center opened their doors for tours and open houses. Small neighborhood employers such as 5 Generation Bakers, Cellone’s Bakery, ACE Wire Spring & Form Co., Neena’s Daycare and Bosetti Landscaping sent job vacancies to Building Bridges for Business to be shared with neighborhood residents. Workforce Development, like #UcanB, was selective in its use of time and resources. It was important for Workforce Development to continue its work with State Representative Dan Deasy and with the US Probation Office as both of these entities are also great supporters of the #UcanB Career Education Program. The Workforce Development Team also believed in the importance of its partnership with the Bureau of Prisons because of the ongoing, unfortunate relationships between adults serving time and the youth who participate in #UcanB. These three partnerships remained the focus for Building Bridges for Business’ Workforce Development Department. Still, Workforce Development was able to forge new partnerships and organize events with State Representative Adam Ravenstahl and State Senator Wayne Fontana as...