Green Bank Helps American YouthWorks Build a Greener Future
Opening a school that teaches green building skills is something to smile about. Picture at the ribbon-cutting are Tim Gillespie, senior vice president, Green Bank; Richard Halpin, American YouthWorks founder and chief vision officer; Margarine Beaman, American YouthWorks board chairperson; U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin.
Green Bank, N.A., teamed up with American YouthWorks to provide the loan for a new “green” campus. The larger facility houses the non-profit organization’s award-winning Austin charter school for at-risk youth. American YouthWorks is expanding its “green collar” job training programs and its new leading-edge curriculum focused on green construction skills, engineering and management.
A ribbon-cutting was held on September 28. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, along with a number of Central Texas dignitaries and Green Bank executives, joined American YouthWorks for the ceremony and toured the new campus. Green Bank sponsored the reception following the event.
“American YouthWorks’ is building strong communities with a commitment to the environment,” explains Tim Gillespie, senior vice president, commercial banking at Green Bank. “The new campus prepares at-risk youth for careers in an important and growing job sector. When American YouthWorks’ students graduate, they have real opportunities and skills that are in demand.”
In addition to loan funding, Gillespie has been a long-time supporter of American YouthWorks. Recently, he served on fundraising committees and is working with the non-profit to provide banking education classes to budding entrepreneurs.
“The ability to purchase this building and undertake an energy saving retrofit will dramatically reduce the energy usage of the campus. It also serves as a living classroom for teaching students the skills they will need to pursue green jobs,” said Melinda Wheatley, acting CEO, American YouthWorks. “In order to give students the best ‘real world’ training, we have teamed up with the Building Owners and Managers Association, Austin affiliate, and the Austin Association of Facility and Maintenance Engineers to train at-risk youths for green building management and engineering careers.”
American YouthWorks’ new campus is a hands-on classroom, teaching the next generation of builders to install contemporary green building products. The 30,000-square-foot facility also received a grant from the Economic Development Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The state-of-the-art building is slated to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold designation. The LEED rating system was developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The point-based “green building” rating system encourages sustainable design and implementation. It has been accepted world-wide as a leading method to quantify and qualify resource and well-being conscious home and building design and construction.
Founded in 1976, American YouthWorks is dedicated to helping at-risk youth obtain the necessary skills, training and mentoring to become productive members of the community. American YouthWorks offers a variety of support and education programs, which enable students to not only, obtain a diploma but real world hands on training through community volunteer projects.