Trades Team Up with Coast Guard to Fix Up DC Youth Center

The Children of Mine Youth Center’s “clean safe haven” for DC kids is now cleaner and safer thanks to the efforts of local building trades workers. Volunteers from the "Helmets to Hardhats" program, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 51, the Community Hub for Opportunities in Construction Employment (CHOICE, formerly the DC Building Trades Council) and the United States Coast Guard, lent a hand on October 27th to help refurbish the center's physical structure in southeast DC. “Our members enjoy being able to use their skills and talents to help such a deserving program like this one and we are always willing to lend a hand to Helmets to Hard Hats” said Brian Courtien, Apprenticeship and Training Director of District Council 51 of the Painters Union... 

The volunteer based after school Center provides more than 100 DC children with clothes, food, tutoring and counseling. “Your work makes so much of an impression on people when they see a place neat and squared away,” said the Coast Guard’s Brian Moore.  “Behavior improves, desire to succeed, everything a society wants to reinforce in our children benefits from your talent and gift.” CHOICE announced on September 23 a "Commitment to Action" on youth employment in conjunction with the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).  The announcement was made as part of an effort led by Secretary Hillary Clinton and CGI to focus increased attention on the challenging issue of youth employment opportunities in the United States. "We just felt that the mission of 'Children of Mine' had many parallels to our mission," said Darrell Roberts, Executive Director of "Helmets to Hardhats," which trains military service members for post-service careers in the skilled trades. "I visited their youth center and saw firsthand the work they are doing. So being able to coordinate a group of skilled craft professionals to spruce up a structure that houses such a noble effort is very rewarding."