Year Up New York Honors Goldman Sachs Gives and Commissioner Gladys Carrion During Student Graduation Ceremony

Jim Esposito and Richard Ramsden of Goldman Sachs accepted the "Urban Empowerment Award" on behalf of Goldman Sachs Gives for their commitment to enabling young adults to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education

NEW YORK, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Year Up New York awarded Goldman Sachs Gives the "Urban Empowerment Award" in recognition of the fund's continued support and encouragement of both Year Up students and the career training the program offers.  Gladys Carrion, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Children & Family Services, also accepted the "Urban Empowerment Award" for the incredible work she has done with urban young adults in New York.   The awards were presented during Year Up New York's graduation ceremony for students, in which 46 young adults advanced from the program into skilled employment and/or higher education.

Jim Esposito and Richard Ramsden — Managing Directors at Goldman Sachs — accepted the award on behalf of Goldman Sachs Gives, a donor-advised fund that provides financial support to charitable organizations.

"Year Up is a terrific example of how providing opportunity for urban young adults produces positive results," said Jim Esposito. "I've watched countless Year Up students expand their knowledge base and job skills over the years.  Goldman Sachs Gives is proud to help organizations like Year Up provide urban young adults with access to the education and job training they need to establish careers and ultimately become leaders in society."

Lauded by President Barack Obama for its proven, innovative approach, Year Up is a national organization that provides career training to low-income young adults and helps them secure internships with top US companies. Its scalable model prepares students for the workforce using a unique combination of technical and professional instruction, college credits, an educational stipend and corporate internships. Successful completion of the intensive, one-year program enables graduates to move into full-time employment and higher education. To date, 87 percent of graduates have been placed into positions within four months of graduation, earning an average of $37,000 per year.

"Goldman Sachs Gives' contributions to Year Up New York is a strong endorsement of our proven, scalable model," said Lisette Nieves, Executive Director of Year Up New York. "We are honored that Jim and Richard believe in our students and our program. Their dedication to helping urban young adults realize their potential makes a significant difference in not only the lives of the students, but also supplies our nation with talent to compete more effectively as an economy."

In addition to supporting Year Up New York financially, Goldman Sachs is partnering with the program through its Community Team Works initiative, in which Goldman Sachs employees meet with Year Up students to partake in career workshops and provide advice for individual educational goals.  The next Community Team Works initiative is taking place on Thursday, August 5th at Year Up New York's headquarters in the Financial District.

About Year Up, Inc.

Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Year Up achieves this mission through a high support, high expectation model that combines marketable job skills, stipends, internships, college credit, a behavior management system and several levels of support to place these young adults on a viable path to economic self-sufficiency. Year Up currently serves more than 1,600 students a year at sites in Atlanta, Boston, Providence, New York City, San Francisco, and National Capital Region. To learn more, visit www.yearup.org.

About Goldman Sachs Gives

Goldman Sachs Gives is a donor advised fund—a public charity that maintains individual accounts for donors who recommend grants to qualified non-profit organizations from their accounts. Established in 2007, Goldman Sachs Gives enables the Goldman Sachs and its people to leverage their donations to charities in the communities where they live and work, or elsewhere around the globe.  The focus of this contribution is on those areas that have been proven to be fundamental to creating jobs and economic growth, building and stabilizing communities, honoring service and veterans and increasing educational opportunities.

SOURCE Year Up