Students from YouthBuild Schenectady, operated by SEAT Center, partner with local Saint-Gobain employees to install CertainTeed Gypsum Board at partnership’s first ground-up construction project
Schenectady, N.Y., June 5, 2018 – Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest building materials companies and manufacturer of innovative material solutions, and YouthBuild Schenectady, operated by SEAT Center, installed CertainTeed Gypsum Board at their sustainable home construction project at 99 Prospect Street. Approximately 15 YouthBuild Schenectady students worked alongside Saint-Gobain employees to learn how sustainable building materials from the Saint-Gobain family of companies help improve the wellbeing of building occupants while gaining insight into careers in the manufacturing and construction industries.
This volunteer day installation is just one of the sustainable construction projects completed under Saint-Gobain’s national partnership with YouthBuild USA in support of the nonprofit’s green-building and job-training program. Since its start in 2010, the program has provided former out-of-school young adults with the opportunity to complete sustainable renovation and construction projects in their local communities while gaining green job skills and industry-recognized credentials as well as their high school equivalencies. Through this partnership, the Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation has provided funding as well as sustainable building materials from the Saint-Gobain family of companies, building science expertise and employee volunteerism while exposing students to potential career opportunities.
“The building science expertise and support that Saint-Gobain provides is invaluable to our students’ development,” said Jennifer Lawrence, Executive Director of SEAT Center. “By receiving hands-on mentorship and having the opportunity to improve their own local community, our students are able to envision a future for themselves that never would have been possible prior to Saint-Gobain’s support.”
The installation of CertainTeed Gypsum Board will help to improve the home’s indoor air quality, acoustics, fire resistance, moisture and mold resistance and overarching sustainability goals. The Prospect Street project, which is aiming to achieve U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum certification and eventually become a net-zero home, is the first ground-up construction project completed under the partnership.
“Through our partnership with YouthBuild USA, Saint-Gobain is not only building examples of sustainable, affordable urban housing, but we’re also building relationships with YouthBuild students and helping them develop an affinity for our products,” said Tom Kinisky, President and CEO of Saint-Gobain Corporation. “Through our work with these students, there is a constant exchange of knowledge – while our employees provide technical insight and expertise, these students are capable of opening our eyes to unique ways of looking at our building materials. It is this kind of vision and creativity that will be needed to help fill the demand for skilled workers in the manufacturing and construction industries.”
The Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation’s partnership with YouthBuild USA also supports green renovation and construction projects in three other communities where Saint-Gobain has business concentrations, including Canton, Ohio, Philadelphia, Pa., and Worcester, Mass., and has granted more than $1.4 million to help educate future generations about sustainable building and environmental preservation through its own example. For more information about Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation’s partnership with YouthBuild USA, please visit www.buildingourfuturetogether.com.
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About YouthBuild Schenectady at SEAT Center
YouthBuild Schenectady will provide a Full-Time Construction Trainer and 21 YouthBuild Trainees (young people ages 17-24) who are OSHA and LEAD certified to work on this project. In addition to learning construction through building affordable housing, students are completing their high school diploma with YouthBuild Instructors at the Schenectady Community College Campus. YouthBuild is an intense six month program for out of school youth seeking a second chance to complete their education and gain job skills. The program provides life skills, social work services, leadership development, job and college placement, and retention services.
About SEAT Center
Our mission is to provide transformative educational and workforce experiences that create a sense of purpose and hope in our communities and connect businesses to real-time solutions. SEAT offers a growing branch of social enterprise services that support academic and workforce development of underrepresented young people, who are underemployed, unemployed and/or have dropped out of high school. SEAT provides access to career development and academic support services, including project based, high school equivalency classes and workforce training in Green Construction, Energy Efficiency, and Healthcare.
About YouthBuild USA
YouthBuild is celebrating 40 years of work advancing its mission to unleash the intelligence and positive energy of young people to transform their lives and rebuild their communities. YouthBuild USA is the global non-profit support center for 360 local YouthBuild programs operating in 23 countries, with 260 programs in 44 U.S. states and 100 programs in 22 other countries. In YouthBuild programs, unemployed, low-income, and out-of-school young people ages 16 to 24 work toward their high school diploma or equivalency, while learning job skills by building affordable housing and other community assets in their neighborhoods and engaging in community service and leadership training. Proven effective by the most rigorous program evaluation research, YouthBuild’s comprehensive model gives graduates the confidence and tools they need to become strong, responsible, and ethical young leaders. For more information, visit www.youthbuild.org.
About Saint-Gobain in North America
Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest building materials companies and manufacturer of innovative material solutions, helps create great living spaces by combining comfort and sustainability. For more than three-and-a-half centuries, Saint-Gobain has been enhancing the wellbeing of people everywhere, whether it’s by addressing climate change, delivering true sustainable development, advancing the information revolution, participating in medical breakthroughs or playing a vital role in space exploration.
In North America, Saint-Gobain has approximately 150 locations and more than 15,000 employees. In the United States and Canada, Saint-Gobain reported sales of approximately $6.1 billion in 2017. Learn more about Saint-Gobain North America by visiting www.saint-gobain-northamerica.com and connect with Saint-Gobain North America on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
About the Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation
The Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation is committed to putting the power of its people and its products into the communities in which its employees live and work. The Foundation believes Saint-Gobain can do well by doing good – and supporting non-profits that share a commitment to community development, energy conservation and environmental stewardship is central to that belief. Programs such as YouthBuild that engage youth and communities in green building and renovation align closely with Saint-Gobain’s mission to help professionals and communities around the world build and renovate comfortable, healthy, cost-efficient and durable buildings. Through the Foundation’s support, Saint-Gobain is helping to educate future generations about sustainable building and environmental preservation through its own example. For more information about Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation’s partnership with YouthBuild USA, please visit: http://www.saint-gobain-northamerica.com/people/YouthBuild.asp
Media Contacts:
Liz Mazanek
Brownstein Group on behalf of Saint-Gobain in North America
Office: 267-238-4137
Cell: 484-680-3013
emazanek@brownsteingroup.com
On-Site Contact:
Lauren Howe
Saint-Gobain
Cell: 774-262-5720
lauren.howe@saint-gobain.com