PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Citizens Bank Foundation awarded $60,000 to fund 13 projects that are geared to improve Olneyville, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Providence.
The projects selected this year include:
^ Providence Plan's pre-apprenticeship program for low-income, and often low-skilled, urban adults. Graduates will help construct three affordable houses on Olneyville's Audrey Street.
^ The Steel Yard's 95-hour Weld to Work program for eight Olneyville residents who will learn in-demand skills for careers with "livable wages" and help with employment.
^ Olneyville Housing Corporation's program that hires and trains young Olneyville adults for landscaping and snow removal jobs. They also help maintain the Southside Community Land Trust gardens.
The bank foundation is also supporting the Local Initiatives Support Corporation's "Our Neighborhoods" project with a $60,000 grant. According to the news release, the nonprofit organization mobilizes residents, businesses, government and charitable organizations to help "transform distressed neighborhoods into resilient and sustainable communities of choice and opportunity."