Press release from Green Opportunities:
The third and final Green Opportunities (GO) graduation ceremony of 2016 will be held on Thursday, November 17 at 5:30 pm in A-B Tech Community College’s Ferguson Auditorium, located at 340 Victoria Road in Asheville. The event is free and open to the public.
The event will center economic justice and its vital relationship with GO’s organizational mission of connecting youth and adults to sustainable employment opportunities to improve community and environmental health.
“Opportunities are supposed to exist for everyone,” says J Hackett, Interim Executive Director at GO, “however, Asheville is still struggling to bridge economic gaps.”
GO will graduate members of the 13th cycle of the GO Kitchen Ready culinary arts training program. GO will also recognize the students who have successfully completed the first 15-week module of the new GO Build training and apprenticeship program, which provides training in the building trades. As with past ceremonies, a GO graduate will be selected to deliver an address on behalf of their class.
“This graduation will not only celebrate student achievement, but will highlight economic issues plaguing our region and present solutions that ensure everyone is included in the success of Western North Carolina,” says Hackett.
In addition to the student speaker, the ceremony will feature remarks by Asheville City Councilman Keith Young, Mychal Bacoate of HomeTrust Bank, and Carmen Ramos Kennedy, Living Wage Program Coordinator at Just Economics. Each speaker will frame the work of Green Opportunities and the achievements of our graduates in the context of Asheville’s broader economic climate.
During the ceremony, GO will also recognize key stakeholders that have supported our work by presenting awards for outstanding employment partner, community partner, and philanthropic partner.
Refreshments prepared by the Kitchen Ready program will be served from 5:30 to 6:00 in the lobby of Ferguson Auditorium, with the formal ceremony following from 6:15 to 7:30.
For more information, contact Sheneika Smith at (828) 398-4158 ext. 107 or sheneika@greenopportunities.org.
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