JobTrain has partnered with Ravenswood Family Health Center, Emerson Collective, and Sobrato Philanthropies to bolster workforce development and improve healthcare services in East Palo Alto
East Palo Alto, June 26, 2019 – On Thursday, June 27, 2019, JobTrain along with its partners Ravenswood Family Health Center, Emerson Collective, and Sobrato Philanthropies, will meet with residents of East Palo Alto to share details about a new development project on Pulgas Avenue.
The meeting is scheduled from 7:45 – 9:00 p.m. at the YMCA located at 550 Bell Street, East Palo Alto. All members of the public are welcome to attend, and Spanish translation will be provided. Representatives from the aforementioned organizations will discuss the goals of the project, including bolstering job training and consolidating healthcare services in East Palo Alto. There will also be time for community input and questions.
A New Home for JobTrain
JobTrain started in 1965 and has been a part of the fabric of the local community since its inception. Today its current home has reached capacity and JobTrain has been evaluating various locations to accommodate its growing needs. Fortunately, JobTrain has identified a site that will allow it to provide additional resources and to expand its programming.
“JobTrain has been serving the East Palo Alto community since 1965,” said Barrie Hathaway, President and CEO, JobTrain. “As our current facility is at capacity, this partnership would allow us to continue to offer our highly effective job training and placement, supportive services and skills upgrade classes while expanding programs and services to help more residents gain access to great careers right in our back yard.”
For many local residents, JobTrain has provided a critical resource, which is why it is so vital for the organization to be able to remain in East Palo Alto, where more than half of its students reside.
As one recent JobTrain graduate said, “I felt the great sense of community support all around me; that was very helpful for anyone going through a career transition like me. The organization provided me the support in both new skill development as well as professional career development like resume building, LinkedIn profile tips, interviews and job search skills, mock interviews and connections to tech companies.”
Improved Office Space for Ravenswood Family Health Center
This project will also allow Ravenswood Family Health Center – the primary health service provider for many East Palo Alto residents – to streamline and improve their services by consolidating their administrative offices into a single location.
“Ravenswood Family Health Center is committed to improving the health of the community of East Palo Alto,” said Luisa Buada, CEO, Ravenswood Family Health Center. “The new location will provide long term stability for our administrative services that cater to both staff and patients. Collocation in shared space will give us the economies of scale for the use of meeting spaces, new opportunities to collaborate on projects, including job training and internships; in all, allow us to better serve the East Palo Alto community and deepen our relationship with other like-minded organizations.”
About the Proposed Project Site
The proposed project will be a four-story, 100,000 square foot office building for JobTrain, Ravenswood Family Heath Center, as well as a second building identical to the first in size. It will include an underground parking garage that will allow for the creation of open green space that will ultimately help transform Pulgas Avenue into a more walkable destination. Plans for the development are currently going through the approval process with the City of East Palo Alto.
“Emerson Collective is proud to partner with JobTrain, Ravenswood Family Health Center and the Sobrato Family Foundation on this new development which will provide critical services for East Palo Alto,” said Lorenzo Brooks of Emerson Collective. “We are excited to work alongside our partners and the community so that this project will have a meaningful and sustained impact for years to come.”
Established and led by Laurene Powell Jobs, Emerson Collective’s work in the community spans over two decades through College Track East Palo Alto, a college readiness program that has supported 500 college graduates since 1997. The proposed site is located around the corner from College Track’s East Palo Alto office.
“We are pleased to contribute 2.5 acres of property to this important project,” said John A. Sobrato, Founder of the Sobrato Organization and Chairman of the Sobrato Family Foundation. “Our philanthropic priorities have long included investing in local employment and job training opportunities, and leveraging our real estate investments for community good, making this work with Jobtrain, Ravenswood Family Health Center, and Emerson Collective to create a new community space in East Palo Alto an ideal partnership.”
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About JobTrain
JobTrain transforms lives and communities in Silicon Valley. We help the Valley’s most in need reclaim their lives from poverty and unemployment by preparing them for successful, sustainable careers in high-demand and emerging fields.
About Ravenswood Family Health Center
Ravenswood Family Health Center’s mission is to improve the health of the community by providing culturally sensitive, integrated primary and preventative health care to all, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status, and collaborating with community partners to address the social determinants of health.
About Emerson Collective
Emerson Collective is a social change organization that uses a broad range of tools including philanthropy, impact investing, and policy solutions to create the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Established and led by Laurene Powell Jobs, Emerson Collective is working to renew some of society’s most calcified systems, creating new possibilities for individuals, families, and communities.
About Sobrato Philanthropies
Sobrato Philanthropies advances the Sobrato Family’s collective philanthropic interest by promoting access to high-quality education, career pathways, and essential human services to make Silicon Valley a place of opportunity for all its residents. Since 1996, Sobrato Philanthropies, which encompasses the family foundation and its support organization, the family’s individual giving, and corporate donations made by the 100% family-owned Sobrato Development Companies, has invested more than $550 million in nonprofits serving the most vulnerable communities in Santa Clara, San Mateo and Southern Alameda counties. In addition to the individual family members’ giving and the millions the Sobrato Family Foundation grants each year in multi-year general operating and strategic program funds, the Foundation works to support a resilient, place-based nonprofit sector by investing more than $7.5M in annual value of in-kind space to 70+ nonprofits, as well as free conference facilities to hundreds of Bay Area nonprofits, at three Sobrato Centers for Nonprofits located in Redwood Shores, San Jose, and Milpitas.
Contact
Patty Rally
Director of Development and Marketing, JobTrain
650-330-6521