CEW

#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...

As another successful UcanB school year comes to a close, I would like to take a minute to thank the people who make our Career Education Program possible. Our guest speakers share invaluable, real-life experiences with local 6-12th grade students to help our kids better understand the realities and expectations of future careers. The following individuals helped educate thousands of Western Pennsylvania students throughout the 2017-18 school year…   Rocco Cozza – The Cozza Company Shannon Krohe – UPMC Health Plan Domenic Mantella – I Got a Guy Solutions Gino Palmosina – Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith’s Office Joe Martelli – BOSS Labor Group Joe Ellis – UPMC Magee Dan Deasy – PA State Representative Jessica Albert – US Probation & Pretrial Services David Holzer – Pittsburgh Combat Club Erik Ross – Bitcore Jessica Lee – Jazz Vocalist/Vive Venture Jim Gabriel – Sevan Multi-Site Solutions Traci York – Career Training Academy Walt Bentley – Local 5 Electricians Union Dan Quigley – Quigley Photography Paul Sheldon – Dreamosophy Patrick Sullivan – Civil Environmental Consultants Erin Long – Omni William Penn Ross Acuri – Brightwood Career Institute Breanna Logan – Student @ Penn State University Anita Williams – Penn State University Greg Hojdila – Local 712 Electricians Union Julius Boatwright – Steel Smiling Lee Davis – Lee Davis & Associates Earl Lamar – Mon Valley Initiative Aaron Aldrich – Bridgeway Capital Amy LaSota – Bidwell Training Center Anjali Martin – Partner4Work/Learn n Earn Cheyenne Lamar – Partner4Work/Learn n Earn James Protin – Mackin Engineering/Author & Speaker Patrick Stefano – PA State Senator Alexander Nichols – Omega Business Consulting Camera Chatham Bartolotta – PA State Senator Corey O’Connor – Pittsburgh City Councilman Students from dozens of local school districts participated in guest presentations. These included Pittsburgh Public Schools, Sto-Rox, Springdale, Carlynton, Hopewell, Propel Schools, Clayton Academy, Belle Vernon, Laurel Highlands and more! Pictured below are some highlights from guest presentations. Jessica Albert of US Probation & Pretrial Services of Western Pennsylvania discussed Careers in Criminal Justice with students at Hopewell Junior High. Mrs. Albert visited Hopewell School District twice this school year. She also spoke with students at Sto-Rox High School, Springdale High School, Carlynton High School, Westinghouse Summer School and Propel Braddock High School. Chief US Probation Officer Belinda Ashley spoke with students at Pittsburgh Classical Academy. US Probation and #UcanB were solid partners throughout the year. Our two organizations also partnered to organize and host a community career fair on behalf of State Representative Dan Deasy and PA Senator Wayne Fontana. Julius Boatwright of Steel Smiling visits students at Propel Braddock High School. Mr. Boatwright also visited Clayton Academy Middle School students. His presentations included a career overview and a message to give back to the community. Julius Boatwright was both informative and inspiring for our #UcanB students. We look forward to having him back as a partner for the 2018-19 school year. State Representative Dan Deasy has been a regular guest speaker for the #UcanB Career Education Program for three years now. Mr. Deasy visited Sto-Rox for the second year in a row to discuss Careers in Government & Politics. He has also visited Pittsburgh Classical Academy. In addition, our organization and Rep. Deasy have partnered to host a number of career fairs and hiring events for adults in Pittsburgh’s West End Communities. The examples go on and on. It truly was a great school year. And, much of the thanks goes to our fantastic list of guest speakers. The #UcanB Program looks forward to summer and next year…and a continued partnership with all of our wonderful speakers. Thanks again for all that you...