Mergens Foundation Awards $10,000 to BDCC P3 High School Program Receives
For Immediate Release
Brattleboro, VT – The George W. Mergens Foundation of Vermont has awarded $10,000 to the Pipelines and Pathways Program, run by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation. This donation will underwrite operating costs associated with training and activities for all four Windham County high schools and the Windham Regional Career Center.
The Pipelines & Pathways Project is designed to help students successfully prepare for and access job opportunities. The program addresses both Career Awareness (knowledge of local hiring trends) and Career Readiness (knowledge of skills and behaviors needed to excel).
“This grant is enabling BDCC to implement our innovative 5-year pilot. We are directly impacting post-graduation outcomes for Windham county youth. In this county only a third of students will obtain a college degree within 5 years of graduating high school,” said P3 Coordinator, Christy Betit. “P3 is helping students become ‘Windham Work Ready’, whether that means college-bound seniors developing interview and resume skills, or students proceeding directly into the workforce obtaining soft skills and connections with employers who can offer strong wages and long-term career growth.”
The Mergens Foundation supports programs that seek to enrich the lives of youth to promote knowledge, creativity, leadership and good health in the next generation of Vermonters.
About BDCC and SeVEDS:
Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation is a private, nonprofit economic development organization that serves as a catalyst for industrial and commercial growth throughout Southeastern Vermont, including Windham County and the towns of Readsboro, Searsburg, Winhall, and Weston. BDCC serves as the State of Vermont’s certified Regional Development Corporation (RDC) for the greater Windham County area. BDCC is one of 12 RDCs throughout Vermont. This BDCC activity was made possible in part by a grant from the State of Vermont through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. For more information visit: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/.
Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) is an affiliate of BDCC that grew from a 2008 grassroots effort, initiated by BDCC, to understand and create long term strategies needed to reverse the economic decline of the Windham Region and plan for the economic impacts from the closure of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. In 2014, after multiple years of regional input, education and data gathering, SeVEDS received federal approval for the Windham Region’s federally recognized S.M.A.R.T. Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). SeVEDS partnered with Bennington’s Regional Economic Development Group in 2018 to develop the 2019 Southern Vermont Zone CEDS. For more information visit: www.seveds.com.
