FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: 

Barbara Seibel, 513-631-4400
Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates
bseibeljcg@fuse.net

Briana Haber, 508-253-0203
Staples Foundation for Learning, Inc.
Briana.Haber@staples.com

                                                                                                                                                            Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates Receives Continued Support from Staples Foundation for Learning

CINCINNATI, OH (September 25, 2006) – Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates, a school-to-career transition program focused on helping at-risk Cincinnati youth graduate from high school, announced today it has received a $15,000 grant from Staples Foundation for Learning. This grant will fund the Career Association and Drop-out Recovery Learning Lab programs, which provide youth with hands-on joband career readiness skills practice, as well as leadership and career development skill-building opportunities. This is the third grant Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates has received from Staples Foundation for Learning.

“Support from Staples Foundation for Learning will enable us to build and enhance the necessary job preparation, educational and leadership skills high school students need to advance their careers and become contributing members in the community,” said Barbara Seibel, Executive Director of Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates.

“The Career Association and Drop-out Recovery Learning Labs programs provide critical drop out prevention and career preparation classes to disadvantaged young people,” said Joy Errico, spokesperson for Staples Foundation for Learning. “Staples Foundation for Learning values Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates’ continued work to increase the educational and career opportunities for at-risk youth throughout Cincinnati.”

Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates
Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates is part of Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates (JOG), a statewide program that helps youth successfully transition from school to career upon graduation. Its mission is to assist high students and dropouts with significant challenges, to help them graduate, and successfully make a planned transition from school to career. Launched over two decades ago, JCG and JOG are accredited by Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG). JCG and JOG are comprehensive, performance driven strategies for shifting positively the disturbing societal statistics regarding rates of dropout, graduation, and transition from high school to the private sector labor force. Of the most recent group of 250 youth, class of 2005, and completing the program in 2006, 95% graduated or received their GED and 91% successfully implemented a plan of employment and/or post-secondary education

Staples Foundation for Learning
The mission of Staples Foundation for Learning, Inc. is to teach, train and inspire. Founded in 2002, the foundation has contributed over $8.5 million dollars to national and local charities that provide educational opportunities and job skills for all people, with a special emphasis on disadvantaged youth. Staples Foundation for Learning has also developed lasting relationships with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Earth Force, Hispanic Heritage Foundation and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. In 2006, Staples Foundation for Learning expanded its reach globally by teaming with Ashoka, an organization that develops and supports social entrepreneurs around the world. For more information about the foundation or how to apply for a grant, please visit www.staplesfoundation.org.