Boston Employment Service, Inc. ("STRIVE")

STRIVE's mission is to recruit, train, place in jobs, further the education and advance the careers of chronically unemployed young men and women from the inner city who because of troubled lives, incomplete education and a lack of work experience have little hope of gaining mainstream employment without assistance.

Description:
STRIVE serves the Greater Boston region from three locations: Dorchester, Roxbury and Boston's South End. Participants typically have multiple disadvantages. About 60% are men and 40% are women. Most, 70%, fall within the ages of 18 and 35. On average, they test at the 6th grade level in math and at the 8th grade level in reading. Three quarters have children and about 20% are married. Their backgrounds, in order of representation, are African American, Hispanic, White, Asian, Haitian, West Indian, and Cape Verdean. A high percentage receive public assistance. Many have past exposure to the criminal justice system. None has a history of sustained employment. In 2009, STRIVE will graduate 170 clients from training at a cost of $3,321 per graduate. Their average starting salary will be $22,880 with employers including large and small businesses, government agencies, non-profit agencies, universities and hospitals. The characteristics that set STRIVE apart are short training course (five weeks) and long term support (two years). These produce low costs, fast entry into the workforce and high job retention rates. STRIVE's 2009 budget is $565,000, of which 62% will cover compensation of its four staff members and 22% will go to location costs. Its financial goal is to regain an annual revenue stream of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 where it was in the years 2003-2007.

History:
STRIVE opened in 1994. From 1994 through 2008, it graduated 3,570 persons from training and placed 2,925 in jobs. During this time, its job training curriculum was expanded to include computer literacy, GED (General Equivalency Diploma) instruction, college prep courses and opportunities to pursue college education. Over the years since it opened, 200 corporations, foundations, churches and individuals contributed $10,426,150 to STRIVE. Private funding makes up a high percentage of its income. In 2008, it received grants for the first time from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston. STRIVE's working board of eleven members includes four women and seven men. Four of the eleven are minority members. Seven are, or have been, CEO's of successful organizations, six of them inner-city, direct service non-profits, Five were founders of the latter organizations. Four board members devote time, other than attending meetings, to Boston Employment Service. Attendance at STRIVE's 2008 board meetings was 80%. The Advisory Board of ten members is made up largely of persons who helped found Boston Employment Service in 1994.

Contact people:

Samuel Hartwell, Chief Financial Officer, (phone), (email) Kitt Sawitsky, Board President, (phone), (email) Angel Bermudez, Principal, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (617) 825-1896

Address:

400 Atlantic Avenue Boston, MA 02110 (See a map)

Web Site: http://bostonstrive.org

Directions:

Go to South Station. Walk 10 minutes to 400 Atlantic Avenue. For maps or information, please see http://www.mbta.com

Last updated on May 6, 2009