YouthBuild-Lawrence (continued) Spicket River Clean-Up, Make A Difference Day, Martin Luther King Day, AmeriCorps Week, Arbor/Earth Day, Global Youth Day/Comcast Cares Day, Youth Recognition Day and National Night Out. YouthBuild-Lawrence AmeriCorps members have established community service partnerships including: Essex Art Center, Lawrence Heritage State Park, Lawrence Senior Center, New England Veteran’s Liberty House, Bread & Roses Labor Day Heritage Festival, Lawrence Family Development Charter School, Foster Kids of the Merrimack Valley, Lawrence History Center, Habitat for Humanity, MSPCA/Nevis Farm Project, Daybreak Shelter, Lazarus House, Groundwork Lawrence, Lawrence Methuen Community Coalition, Windrush Farm, General Donovan Neighborhood Association, South Lawrence East School, 180 Shoppe & Café and the Carpenters Local 7 and the New England Carpenters Training Center (NECTC) in a community- labor partnership on the Stone Soup Project. Partnerships YouthBuild-Lawrence maintains ongoing positive relationships with current partners and actively strives to cultivate new partnerships. YouthBuild-Lawrence staff, students, graduates and partners have expanded their networks providing exposure in the following areas: academic and soft skills development, counseling, career pathways, post-secondary education, industry-recognized licensures, apprenticeships, internships and employment opportunities for participants while enrolled in YouthBuild and as they transition upon completion of the program cycle. YouthBuildLawrence and the Charles Hope Companies launched the “Internship-to-Hire Opportunity.” Through this program, a YouthBuild-Lawrence graduate was placed at the Charles Hope Companies as an intern. The purpose of the “Internship-to-Hire Opportunity” is to offer an alternative hiring method to local businesses. This program lowers the hiring risk to employers and provides a company the ability to evaluate a job applicant prior to committing to hire. The “Internship-to-Hire Opportunity” is advantageous to the YouthBuild graduates because they are provided with the opportunity to prove themselves to potential employers. The goal of the program is to develop a win-win partnership where both parties’ needs are being met. This model also received national recognition by the U.S. Department of Labor, and YouthBuild-Lawrence staff members were invited to present the model as a “Best Practice” at the DOL Regional Peer-to-Peer Conference in Boston, MA. YouthBuild-Lawrence established and maintains several new partnerships with post-secondary and certificate-credentialing institutes. YouthBuild-Lawrence students met with representatives and/or visited United Technical Institute (UTI), Lawrence Training School (LTS), Northern Essex Community College (NECC), Electrology Institute of New England (EINE), Middlesex Community College (MCC), Cambridge College and U-MASS, Job Corps, Plumbers and Gas Fitters Local 12 Training Center in Boston, MA, Greater Lowell Technical School Graphic Communications Department and AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps). 13
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