Youthbuild Columbia Student Meets With U.S. Senators Tim Scott and Cory Booker To Share Success Of Youth Job Training
July 27, 2015
Elbert Ruff Shares Personal Story and Experience with YouthBuild to Support LEAP Act
COLUMBIA, SC – Elbert Ruff, a student at YouthBuild Columbia in Columbia, SC, met with U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R—SC) and Cory Booker (D—NJ) recently at the Microsoft Innovation and Policy Center in Washington, D.C. to discuss his personal experience with job training and apprenticeships. This town hall event was centered around the LEAP Act, bipartisan legislation aiming to reduce youth and young adult unemployment in America, while training workers for today’s in-demand jobs and careers.
The town hall brought together students, young people currently participating in apprenticeships programs, business leaders, and educators to discuss how to increase and strengthen apprenticeships. The LEAP Act amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business-related tax credit for hiring a young person as an apprentice.
“Quote about the town hall, what the student learned and what they contributed to the town hall discussion,” said Elbert Ruff.
Elbert Ruff has been part of the YouthBuild Columbia program for three years. He has worked on affordable housing constructed by YouthBuild Columbia and is studying business administration. Elbert heard about the job training program through a friend and decided to join. The program is sponsored by the Benedict-Allen CDC as an outreach project of Benedict College. Elbert’s grandfather, Chuck Ruff, is a distinguished graduate of the college. Elbert graduated from the YouthBuild Program as a student leader and served as the graduation speaker.
YouthBuild Columbia is one of over 260 YouthBuild programs around the country serving low-income young men and women, ages 16-24, who left high school without a diploma, and are unemployed or underemployed. During a full-time school year program, students spend half their time in an individualized and supportive classroom and the other half of their time on a construction site. They learn construction skills while building affordable housing for homeless and low-income people in their communities along with equal emphasis on counseling, mentoring, leadership development, and service to the community. Since YouthBuild was first authorized in federal law in 1992, more than 140,000 YouthBuild students have built more than 30,000 units of affordable housing in 46 states.
About YouthBuild Program
YouthBuild Columbia is sponsored by the Benedict-Allen CDC, which has been offering the job training program to at-risk students for over 10 years. They have provided training to over 125 area youth and constructed over 20 affordable homes in the Columbia area. The program highlights the collaboration by the agency, college, local government and the community to transform the lives of young people. In recognition of this effort, President Barack Obama held a youth rally at Benedict College in Columbia, SC this past March where he recognized YouthBuild and other student leadership programs.
About YouthBuild USA, Inc.
YouthBuild USA, Inc., www.youthbuild.org, based in Somerville, MA, is the non-profit support center for over 260 local YouthBuild programs operating in 45 states and the District of Columbia. It also sponsors the YouthBuild International effort that has generated over 100 local YouthBuild programs in 15 countries worldwide. There are two ways a local program can be authorized to use the YouthBuild brand: either they can directly win a US Department of Labor YouthBuild grant, or they can be licensed by YouthBuild USA to use the name when they demonstrate commitment to the basic philosophy and design.
