Truist Invests $17 Million in the Future of Charlotte and Communities Across North Carolina
Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE: TFC) and Truist Foundation today announced $17 million in commitments to support affordable housing in Charlotte and career development and economic mobility programs across North Carolina.
The Truist commitment consists of three initiatives:
- $15 million equity investment from Truist Community Capital in the Housing Impact Fund II to combat displacement, secure affordable housing and facilitate critical services for low-to-moderate income families across Mecklenburg County. It is the second such fund formed by Erskine Bowles, former head of the U.S. Small Business Administration and White House Chief of Staff under President Clinton, and Nelson Schwab, a founding partner of Carousel Capital.
- $1 million Truist Foundation grant to Per Scholas North Carolina to expand technology skills training in rural North Carolina.
- $1 million Truist Foundation grant to NPower to provide technology skills and employment opportunities for military-connected individuals and underserved young adults in the Raleigh community.
Read the Truist press release here.
Per Scholas Diverse by Design Hosts Unlocking Potential Summer Concert and Spoken Word Celebration
On July 20, Per Scholas Diverse by Design hosted our first-ever Unlocking Potential Summer Concert and Spoken Word Celebration. This hybrid event, produced live from Per Scholas New York and Per Scholas North Carolina and streamed at PerScholas.org/Concert, brought together Per Scholas staff, learners, alumni, partners, advisory board members, and more to rally around our mission to unlocking potential.
This inspiring event featured talented musicians and poets who work, learn, and partner with Per Scholas, including:
- Deji Adefuye, Per Scholas Dallas Teaching Fellow, who premiered two original songs titled Persevere and You Believe In You
- Melodie Rodgers, Per Scholas Manager of Career Advancement, sharing her original poem, Unlock Your Potential
- Zaidi Howard, Per Scholas Chicago Teaching Fellow, sharing his original poem, Soul Questions
- Caprice Green, Per Scholas Detroit Alumna, performing Astonishing from Little Women
- Mike Terrell, Per Scholas North Carolina Managing Director, performing Tears for Fears’ Everybody Wants to Rule the World
- Omoanatse McCarther, Per Scholas Diverse by Design Senior Director, sharing her original poem, Forged Key
- Broadway Star Tim Connell, performing Corner of the Sky from Pippin
- Nonprofit Consultant and Leadership Coach Saundra Thomas, performing her original poem, Silver Linings
Hosted by Executive Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Culture Ken Walker, viewers had the opportunity to hear from our EVP of People Montreece Smith, Regional Senior Vice Presidents Noah Mitchell, Jaclyn Boyes, and Robin Nadeau, as well as President and CEO Plinio Ayala. Chief Development Officer Caitlyn Brazill delivered remarks live from the Bronx and introduced the final performances.
Scores of Per Scholians came together for this exciting event; many thanks to Per Scholas Columbus, Per Scholas Dallas, Per Scholas New York Bronx, and Per Scholas North Carolina for hosting on-campus viewing parties.
In closing, the event showcased just a handful of our brilliant Per Scholas alumni, which you can watch here. If you missed the Unlocking Potential Summer Concert and Spoken Word Celebration, you can watch the recording here! If you feel inspired and want to help unlock potential, please give at perscholas.org/donate.
Per Scholas North Carolina Awarded Lenovo Foundation TransforMe Grant
Per Scholas North Carolina is the proud recipient of Lenovo Foundation’s TransforMe grant. The grant was awarded to twenty-three organizations worldwide, and Per Scholas is one of four recipients in the United States. Lenovo Foundation’s TransforMe grant aims to equip today’s workforce with the skills needed to transform their career, lives, and communities and is part of the Foundation’s commitment and mission to transform the lives of 1 million individuals by 2025.
The TransforMe grant will support Per Scholas North Carolina in preparing diverse individuals to launch their tech careers, creating a more equitable workforce.
Per Scholas North Carolina Awarded American Rescue Plan Act Grant
Per Scholas North Carolina Celebrates Opening of Innovation Lab
Earlier this month, Per Scholas North Carolina celebrated the opening of its Innovation Lab. The Innovation Lab is a multipurpose space that inspires greater collaboration and enhances our capacity to host activities ranging from mock interviews and study groups to conferences for our learners, and more.
To help us celebrate the lab, Per Scholas North Carolina hosted an event with current learners, Per Scholas alumni, guest speakers, community and employer partners, and Per Scholas North Carolina Advisory Board members.
“Our team saw this space as an opportunity to position ourselves at the epicenter of the Innovation that’s happening in Charlotte,” Per Scholas North Carolina Managing Director Mike Terrell reflected. “The co-location with our Charlotte campus enables our community and employer partners to be closest to the heart of our mission: our learners. We look forward to the conversations and events we’ll have in the Innovation Lab and to the impact we will be able to have across the state!”
The Innovation Lab will be instrumental in Per Scholas’s ability to advance tech careers for our learners throughout North Carolina in addition to our partnership with Wilkes Community College and NC Tech Paths, which began earlier this year. Per Scholas North Carolina aims to train 220 learners in 2023 in courses including IT Support, Cybersecurity, and Software Engineering.
North Carolina Managing Director, Mike Terrell, Interviewed for Charlotte Business Journal
This week, Per Scholas North Carolina was highlighted in the Charlotte Business Journal! Our North Carolina Managing Director, Mike Terrell, was interviewed for the piece.
In the article, Mike discussed the ways in which Per Scholas focuses on diversifying the tech workforce by opening pathways for people previously excluded from the tech industry. Mike also noted how our professional development training sets us apart from other organizations and lends to the ultimate success of our learners.
The article provided a brief history of Per Scholas, our North Carolina campus, which is located in Charlotte, and some information about our North Carolina courses.
Per Scholas North Carolina Featured in Local News and Television
Per Scholas North Carolina has prepared our learners for successful IT careers through our cost-free tech training. Recently, our Charlotte-based campus has been featured in the news for our partnerships with NC Tech Paths and Wilkes Community College (WCC), as well as a television feature on WBTV – the Charlotte CBS Affiliate.
We were mentioned in the Wilkes Journal-Patriot about our successful training in the entire state of North Carolina, where our learners graduate with in-demand tech skills for a high-growth tech career. Additionally, Per Scholas and NC Tech Paths work with Wilkes Community College, so all learners receive college credits and are eligible to return for additional certifications, diplomas, or degrees.
Managing Director Mike Terrell was a guest on WBTV’s QC@3, a segment of QCLIFE, a daytime television program, discussing the development of our training in Charlotte for the state. “The needs of our employers that we work with drive our curriculum. We work closely with our employers to ensure our curriculum is relevant and that we deliver the folks they need in those positions,” Mike mentioned.
Watch the full interview with Mike Terrell here.
To date, Per Scholas North Carolina has graduated twenty diverse individuals in partnership with WCC and NC Tech Paths. Ten of those graduates were in the Software Engineering training, while the other ten were in IT Support. Next, there are thirty confirmed learners for the upcoming IT Support cohort.