Workforce Diversity and Development Archives - Madison Park Development Corporation

In the Charlestown Patriot Bridge: Wu Announces Applications for Boston’s Youth Summer Jobs Program are Now Open

Kelly Lydon — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 17:25:51 +0000

Mayor Michelle Wu and the Office of Youth Employment and Opportunity (YEO) announced that paid youth job applications are open for summer 2025. Boston youth and young adults ages 14 – 24 can apply now at futureBOS. The platform is a centralized hub for all youth employment opportunities in Boston, including opportunities from SuccessLink, the City’s long-standing flagship youth jobs program. This announcement builds on Mayor Wu’s work to make Boston a home for everyone and ensure Boston’s young people are connected to opportunity across neighborhoods.

“Our city’s youth deserve every opportunity to grow both personally and professionally,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “By investing in youth summer jobs, we are investing in our community’s future and empowering our young leaders. We will continue to engage every sector across the city in supporting our young people and families.”

Read the entire article as it originally appeared in the Charlestown Patriot Bridge here.

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From The City of Boston: Community Development Block Grants: Making a Difference in Boston for over 50 Years

Kelly Lydon — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:40:55 +0000

In 2024, the Office of Workforce Development (OWD) joined 1200 communities across the country to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated 3.3 billion dollars to the CDBG program, including $17,196,200 to Boston.

The Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, as it is familiarly known, originated in the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. This federal law, among other provisions, amended the Housing Act of 1937 (created during the Great Depression during the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt to improve housing conditions for low-income families). Its implementation provided local governments with additional funding to support community development projects that benefited low to moderate-income individuals, including anti-poverty programs, infrastructure improvements, and affordable and subsidized housing. CDBG funding allowed states and localities to develop programs that supported their specific needs. Today, the CDBG program remains one of HUD’s most established initiatives, widely recognized for its adaptability and significant role in bolstering community resilience and driving economic revitalization across diverse regions.

In Boston, the funds received by the Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH) are used primarily for affordable housing and economic development. HUD allows cities to use up to 15% of the funding received for human services programming. Each year, MOH partners with OWD to manage this portion of CDBG funding.

CDBG funding has a crucial impact on empowering Boston communities, enabling them to address community needs, foster economic growth, and improve quality of life through essential services. In FY25, OWD awarded $2.2 million to more than 40 community-centric organizations whose funding provided programming focused on adult literacy, youth advancement, job training, career readiness, economic stability, education advancement, and support services. Of the 40 awardees, 10 were youth programs, 10 were job training programs, 8 were economic stability programs, and 12 provided support services. In total, they served 3,437 low to moderate-income residents, majority of whom were BIPOC.

The organizations in successfully helped 1,840 participants with completing their programs and 1,124 Boston residents were assisted in finding employment. Securing employment allowed many beneficiaries to increase their incomes which in turn gives them more spending power, providing economic growth in our community. The programs assisted 707 beneficiaries with obtaining public benefits, helping many participants gain access to health care, food, cash benefits, housing vouchers, and more.

See the full list of FY25 awardees here.

Read the entire blog post on the City of Boston website here.

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In The Boston Real Estate Times: MassHousing Awards $326,437 to Six Organizations to Fund Summer Job Opportunities for nearly 100 Youth Across Massachusetts

Kelly Lydon — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 14:25:02 +0000

BOSTON – MassHousing has awarded $326,437 to six organizations that provided summer job opportunities to nearly 100 youth across Massachusetts.

The Agency’s Summer Youth Employment Program allowed 98 youth to work up to 40 hours a week with an average cost of $3,330. At least 80 percent of the youth live in MassHousing-financed rental housing communities.

“MassHousing’s Housing Stability Department is focused on supporting our business and community partners in providing positive tenancies and opportunities for social and economic advancement for their residents,” said MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay. “Our Summer Youth Employment program exposes youth from MassHousing residences to varied work experiences with mission-oriented organizations that have expertise in youth employment.”

The organizations that received Summer Youth Employment Funding are:

Worcester Community Action Council, Inc.

The BASE, Boston.

Madison Park Development Corporation, Boston.

MassHire Holyoke Career Center.

Phillips Brooks House Association, Inc., Cambridge.

Home City Development, Inc., Springfield.

Read the article as it originally appeared in Boston Real Estate Times here.

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In Boston Real Estate Times: NEI General Contracting Celebrates the Grand Opening of WORC²

Kelly Lydon — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 14:30:15 +0000

BOSTON–NEI General Contracting, Inc, in conjunction with local community partners, announced the grand opening of the Workforce Opportunity Resource Center (WORC²).

Designed to engage local community-based businesses and workers in the construction industry, particularly those underrepresented in the market, WORC² will offer “one-stop shopping” resources and technical support to promote worker development, business capacity building, and growth in the local construction community. Through education and information sharing, WORC² will also endeavor to remove the systemic barriers workers face when trying to access the industry.

“If you listen to the kinds of programs being offered here, they’re exactly the kinds of things that would make a big difference if you were a small contractor looking to become a bigger contractor and compete effectively on construction jobs in the public and private sector. This program overtime will give folks who normally don’t have access to mentoring opportunities the ability to be much better at what they do. And by getting much better at what they do, become more successful at what they do,” said Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.

WORC² will be home to an extensive curriculum of professional and industry-specific training sessions, seminars, webinars, and mentorships. Offering a variety of learning opportunities for subcontractors and workers as well as structured business development paths, courses will focus on developing and expanding the project management, back office, and accounting capabilities of contractors.

All information will be presented in multiple languages to better engage the local community. “The space you stand in today is a project years in the making, developed both out of our mission for affordable housing construction projects to offer upward mobility and opportunity to those less fortunate, and the desperate need for resources to help MBE subcontractors grow their businesses, build capacity, and expand their market,” said Andre Barbour, Diversity and Inclusion Director at NEI General Contracting. “Today, we are we are happy to be open and ready to serve the community of Boston.”

Read the entire article as it originally appeared on Boston Real Estate Times here.

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MPDC Storytelling Series: Amenyonah Bossman, Bossman Construction Management

Kelly Lydon — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 17:30:01 +0000

Amenyonah Bossman, a recipient of MPDC’s MWBE Relief Fund (made possible through our partnership with Life Science Cares), shares her story about managing Bossman Construction during COVID-19. Learn more about the Relief Fund and how you can contribute here.

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