MANCHESTER, NH – MY TURN, an organization providing innovative anti-poverty solutions, was recently named by TD as a 2021 TD Ready Challenge recipient, receiving a $325,000 grant for their Project Complete Program.
⇒RELATED STORY: My Turn: New West Side youth drop-in center providing vital connections for at-risk youth
Project Complete will work to address the dropout crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic and increase youth workforce participation within Manchester – the largest city in New Hampshire. The program is designed to quickly and effectively target those youth who disengaged from traditional education amid the COVID-19 crisis, re-engage them in HiSET Preparation as an alternative pathway to high school completion, and provide them with comprehensive post-secondary planning and preparation services.
Schools across North America repeatedly closed and reopened throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to curb the spread of the virus, with students and teachers quickly adapting to online instruction. As a result, research predicts students could experience significant learning loss.
Given the potential widespread and long-lasting impacts of predicted learning loss, the issue was selected as the problem statement for the 2021 TD Ready Challenge. Eligible non-profit and charitable organizations were encouraged to submit their innovative, scalable solutions to assist disproportionately impacted students in grades K-12 who are experiencing pandemic-related learning loss in math and reading.
“Predicted learning loss has the potential to impact our community for generations to come, which is why we are so proud to award MY TURN’s Project Complete with a grant as part of this year’s TD Ready Challenge. We know that the organization’s innovative approach to combatting the dropout crisis will help our kids overcome learning loss, explore alternative career pathways, and give them every opportunity to succeed,” said Sheryl McQuade, Regional President for Northern New England at TD Bank.
“We are thrilled to have been selected to receive a TD Ready Challenge grant. This support will allow us to triple our current capacity and provide pivotal academic and work readiness instruction to 100 youth in Manchester. Project Complete will create opportunity and pathways to bright futures for some of the city’s most vulnerable youth,” said Allison Joseph, Executive Director of MY TURN.
A key component of the Bank’s corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Challenge is an annual initiative aimed at helping provide funding to programs focused on helping to solve societal issues. Acting as a springboard for social innovation, TD established the TD Ready Challenge in 2018, and has since provided more than $40 million CAD in funding to 50 organizations across its North American footprint to support scalable solutions identified within the four drivers of The TD Ready Commitment: Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health.
In total, TD awarded $10 million CAD for the 2021 TD Ready Challenge to organizations in Canada and the U.S. that are addressing predicted learning loss in math and reading.
To learn more about the Ready Challenge and for a full list of this year’s winners, please visit td.com/thereadychallenge
MY TURN
MY TURN works to unleash the full potential in people, regardless of circumstance, helping them chart a course to a bright future. We serve youth, adults and families throughout New England at transitional points in their lives by offering comprehensive career services and academic support. MY TURN serves nearly 1000 individuals annually in 6 gateway cities with high rates of new immigrants, poverty, dropouts, and unemployment. We provide comprehensive workforce recruitment, education, exploration, preparation placement and 12 months of follow-up to ensure that our participants are successful in achieving their career and education goals. MY TURN is proud to have helped more than 25,000 individuals further their education and obtain career-ladder jobs.
About The TD Ready Commitment
TD has a long-standing commitment to enriching the lives of its customers, colleagues and communities. As part of its corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment, TD is targeting CDN $1 billion (U.S. $775 million) in total by 2030 towards community giving in four areas critical to help open doors for a more inclusive and sustainable tomorrow – Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health. Through the TD Ready Commitment, TD aspires to link its business, philanthropy and human capital to help people feel more confident – not just about their finances, but also in their ability to achieve their personal goals in a changing world. For further information, visit https://www.td.com/ca/en/about-td/ready-commitment/.
Source: manchesterinklink.com
