AT&T Grant and HAP Groundbreaking
HAP Receives $95,000 Grant to Support Youth Job Skills Program and Breaks Ground on New Workforce Training Center in Saint Paul
SAINT PAUL, Thursday, April 25, 2019 – Hmong American Partnership (HAP) will receive a $95,000 AT&T contribution to help support their Youth Job Skills program. The nonprofit that serves Minnesota’s growing immigrant community will also break ground on renovations for their new Workforce Training Center, located at 240 Plato Boulevard in Saint Paul.
The groundbreaking ceremony and check presentation will take place Thursday, April 25, 2019, beginning at 9:30 am. Local policy makers, community members, students, and families will be in attendance. Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker, Councilmember Rebecca Noecker of St. Paul, Councilmember Susan Pha of Brooklyn Park, and Paul Weirtz, President of AT&T Minnesota will give remarks.
HAP’s Plato Boulevard Workforce Center was gifted to HAP in 2016 to expand its workforce development training programs. It is one of two workforce center sites that will undergo renovations. In June 2018, Governor Dayton signed a bonding bill that included $5.5 million dollars to support HAP’s workforce centers, which are slated to open in the Fall 2019.
The new 29,000 square foot building on Plato Blvd will house HAP?s Workforce Training programs in health care, manufacturing, information technology, hospitality, and business administration. AT&T Foundation has been a long-time supporter of HAP’s employment and training program. Support from the foundation will help low-income Southeast Asian youth in Saint Paul and across the Twin Cities with career exploration, occupational training, and life skills at the center.
“For more than a century, education has been a priority for AT&T,” said Paul Weirtz, president, AT&T Minnesota. “We are proud to support Hmong American Partnership and their work to provide career pathways for Southeast Asian youth in the Twin Cities.”
Since 2014, AT&T has contributed $475,000 to Hmong American Partnership, including the $95,000 contribution, to support its workforce development programs for Southeast Asian youth. The grant is part of AT&T Aspire, the company’s signature philanthropic initiative focused on providing access to the education and training young people need to get and keep good jobs.
“The fastest growing population in Minnesota is the Southeast Asians, with the Hmong as the largest demographic. Of this, over 50% of the Hmong are under the age of 24 years,” noted Bao Vang, President and CEO of HAP. “This is the future workforce of Minnesota. It is not only timely but critical that Minnesota pays attention to cultivating and directing resources to support Hmong and other Southeast Asian youth.”
Founded in 1990, HAP is a nonprofit community-based social services organization whose mission is to empower the community to embrace the strengths of our cultures while achieving our potential. HAP provides critical services and support to more than 25,000 community members annually.
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