Mary Rigg Receives Grant to Expand Vocational Programs

Indianapolis, IN – Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center has received a grant totaling $200,000 from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

“Workforce development services have long been a part of Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center. After the recession, we adjusted our model to move more individuals towards long-term sustainability by connecting adult learners to industry-specific training tracks,” Clark Lienemann, Mary Rigg Executive Director said. “This grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust will allow us to expand course offerings to include HVAC, welding, and machine tool technology, skills that are much sought-after in the workplace and offer long-term career opportunities.”

“During her career, Nina Mason Pulliam shared her financial success and business leadership skills with many charities. She had a keen awareness of challenges that face our community and would take great pride in the outstanding work being done by organizations like Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center,” said Trustee Kent Agness. “Through her Trust, we continue to build on her legacy, which clearly reflects her heart for philanthropy.”

The POWER Skills occupational bridge program at Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center connects low-income adults who have struggled to attain self-sufficiency to thirteen industry-specific career pathways in three major areas – healthcare, administrative and manufacturing. Program participants face the challenges related to poverty including lack of basic needs being met, lack of education, criminal history, and chronic unemployment or underemployment. The program addresses these challenges by offering basic skills remediation, contextualized learning opportunities, and job readiness workshops while teaching new skills. The program is designed to increase participants’ employability while providing industry-recognized credentials.

The grant to Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center represents one of 26 awarded to nonprofit organizations in Indiana by the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust during the first of two grant cycles this year. Since the Trust began its grant making in 1998, it has awarded more than $283 million to 954 nonprofit organizations in its home states of Indiana and Arizona. For more information about the Trust and its programs, visit www.ninpulliamtrust.org.

About Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center: The nonprofit organization has been serving and collaborating with the Indianapolis community since 1911, originally formed as part of the settlement house movement. It was also one of the original members of Community Chest, which became United Way of Central Indiana. Today the center is one of Indianapolis’ largest and most effective community centers -- and a leader in adult education and job training services; youth and community school programs; family emergency help services; and community collaboration. Last year, the center, along with its donors, collaborative partners, volunteers, and neighbors served more than 7,700 individuals and families in Indianapolis – providing help and hope for a better community. It also operates as a Center for Working Families site, a United Way community partner agency, and a member of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities. For more information, visit maryrigg.org.