Green Opportunities Receives Grant
Green Opportunities (GO) has received a grant of $80,000 from Duke Energy for its job training program and for equipment in its newly renovated training space.
GO will use the grant to help support program participants and train them in essential career and technical skills. Funds will also be used to equip the Arthur R. Edington Education and Career Center (formerly the W.C. Reid Center) with state-of-the-art commercial equipment in its “built environment construction lab.”
The new equipment will further enhance the space’s functionality for GO’s job training program, giving trainees the hands-on experience with construction and woodworking machinery that they need to be successful in the workforce. The training program has operated since 2009 and provides low-income participants with technical and life skills training and ongoing case management as a pathway to sustained employment, post-secondary education, or entrepreneurship.
“Funding the equipment for this training space has been a central goal of ours for some time. We want to create a space that dignifies those who enter it and one that gives trainees the cutting edge technology they need to succeed,” said GO Co-Executive Director Dan Leroy. “We are extremely grateful for the continued support of community and funding partners like Duke Energy in making this program the best that it can be.”
“Duke Energy is thrilled to partner with community training organizations such as GO,” said Jason Walls, District Manager, Duke Energy. “GO’s training and placement initiatives will create opportunities to enhance the lives of others and grow stronger communities, which complements the company’s focus on economic and workforce development.”
“More community-based training opportunities means more community-based jobs,” Walls added. “We are delighted to make an impactful investment in this giving and supportive community.”
About Green Opportunities (GO)
GO connects youth and adults from low-wealth Asheville and Buncombe County neighborhoods to sustained employment opportunities that support families and improve community and environmental health. For more details visit www.greenopportunities.org.
About Duke Energy Foundation
The Duke Energy Foundation actively works to improve the quality of life in its communities, lending expertise in the form of leadership and philanthropic support to charitable organizations.
