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Loíza : Thursday, June 3, 2021 :. A group of 17 young Loiceños graduated today from a construction course in which they also became OSHA-10 certified and contributed to the reconstruction of six homes in their hometown. These are the participants of the project Youth in the Construction of Loíza managed by non-profit organizations PathStone Corporation y Puerto Rico Community Foundation. Six of them also earned their fourth-year high school diploma and seven others earned their OSHA-30 construction safety and health course certification. The group ranges in age from 18 to 46, and is comprised of six women and 11 men.
“We achieved our goal. The young people successfully mastered the challenges and personal challenges and today, in addition to graduating from the construction course, they will receive an incentive of $2,500. We are satisfied with the work we did because we also helped six families from Loice to rebuild their homes. Our purpose has already been fulfilled for some of the young people who are about to enter the job market,” explained Brenda Soto, Director of Quality Control at PathStone Corporation, the organization that administered the project, which was carried out thanks to a philanthropic investment from the Puerto Rico Community Foundation (PRCF).
“The Loíza Youth in Construction Project has significantly impacted the human, physical and financial capital of the Loíza community. On the one hand, you have a group of young people from the community completing studies they had pending, while generating income and learning new job skills, which will allow them to find employment in the construction market. On the other hand, they have contributed to the well-being of the community where they grew up by actively participating in the reconstruction of homes in their communities,” said the president and chief executive officer of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, Dr. Nelson I. Colón Tarrats.
“Undoubtedly, this allows us to look to the future with great hope,” added Colón Tarrats.
The youth also took job readiness workshops and received daily guidance and advice from PathStone's project coordinator, Anne Alvarado. Northern Research and Training Institute provided them with the fourth-year courses, while First Industrial Technological College offered them the construction course.
“At PathStone we are committed to the development of our people and communities. We are very proud of this project because we empowered a group of young people and supported six needy families in Loíza,” said Luayda Ortiz, PathStone's Director of Training and Employment Programs.
The project was developed with a philanthropic investment of $239,856.86, granted by the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, thanks to the contributions of W.K. Kellogg Foundation y The Boston Foundation. It also had several alliances with the participation of the Municipality of Loíza, Taller Salud, Centro Tau, Salvation Army, Radio Loíza, Vitrina Solidaria, Ferretería Pagán, Connecting Paths and local churches.
Jóvenes en la Construcción de Loíza is part of a comprehensive racial and social justice strategy that FCPR has been developing since 2015 to contribute to the integral wellbeing of children, youth and families in this town.
For more information about the programs administered by PathStone Corporation in Puerto Rico, please visit the following web site www.pathtonepuertorico.org as well as visit their Facebook page at @PathStonePuertoRico. You can also visit their Instagram profile at @pathstone_puertorico and Twitter at @PathStonePR.
About PathStone Corporation | Private, non-profit community development and humanitarian services organization. Its mission is to build family and individual self-sufficiency by strengthening rural and urban farmworker communities. PathStone promotes social justice through a variety of outreach programs. They provide low-income housing projects, assistance and loans to small and medium-sized businesses as well as training and employment to strengthen the skills, performance and potential of individuals with the goal of positioning them in the job market.
About the Puerto Rico Community Foundation | Philanthropic organization with a 35-year history of collaboration with donors and communities. It is the first of its kind in the Caribbean and Latin America and the only one of its kind in Puerto Rico. It is recognized as an organization 1101.1 of the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code and as a 501(c)(3) organization of the Federal Internal Revenue Code, so depending on your tax status you may be able to claim a deduction on your contribution.
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