Massachusetts Governor Signs Social Innovation Compact at Year Up Boston

First-of-its-kind agreement tackles key social issues, including training urban young adults for sustainable careers to lift them out of poverty

BOSTON, April 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an effort to identify and promote effective innovative solutions to combat pressing social issues, national nonprofit Year Up hosted Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick as he signed the new Social Innovation Compact. The agreement is an effort to expand the existing reach of proven social innovators into the state's communities to help remedy persistent challenges in education, workforce development, public safety, finance, health and human services, and housing and economic development.  

Casey Recupero, Executive Director for Year Up in Greater Boston, praised the Social Innovation Compact: "The Social Innovation Compact recognizes that public and private partnerships are essential in addressing our biggest social challenges. In Year Up's case, the partnership addresses the private sector's need for skilled entry-level professional talent while providing urban young adults with the opportunity to move from poverty into the economic mainstream."

As a core supporter of the Social Innovation Compact, Year Up is a national nonprofit organization that provides career training to low-income young adults and helps them secure internships with top US companies.

Lauded by President Barack Obama for its proven, innovative approach, Year Up's scalable model prepares students for the workforce using a unique combination of technical and professional skills, college credits, an educational stipend, and corporate internships. Successful completion of the intensive, one-year program enables graduates to move into full-time employment and higher education. To date, 87% of graduates were placed into positions within four months of graduation, earning an average of $35,000 per year.

As part of America Forward -- a coalition of more than 70 results-oriented, entrepreneurial nonprofit organizations around the country -- Year Up serves as a partner in the national conversation spearheaded by the Obama administration to identify opportunities to scale social innovation partnerships nationwide. In fact, the federal government has several competitive grant programs available to promote social innovation, including the Social Innovation Fund, which will support effective nonprofit organizations to evaluate, replicate, and expand successful programs; identify effective approaches to solve social problems and disseminate knowledge; and develop grant-making strategies to promote social innovation in communities nationwide.

About Year Up, Inc.

Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Year Up achieves this mission through a high support, high expectation model that combines marketable job skills, stipends, internships, college credit, a behavior management system and several levels of support to place these young adults on a viable path to economic self-sufficiency. Year Up currently serves more than 1,600 students a year at sites in Atlanta, Boston, Providence, New York City, San Francisco, and National Capital Region. To learn more, visit www.yearup.org.

SOURCE Year Up, Inc.

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