“We embarked on this campaign two years ago in order to deepen the impact we are having on homeless youth and their ability to become self-sufficient, by expanding education, employment and safety to Daybreak youth while ensuring the stability of Daybreak for generations to come,” said Steve Mason, president of Daybreak’s Board of Trustees.
The campaign raised $5.1 million with the help of many generous donors. Daybreak’s Project Rescue campaign was co-chaired by REX American Resources Corporation’s Chairman Stuart Rose and his wife Mimi, who has been on Daybreak’s board for eight years.
“When we heard about the hundreds of homeless youth in our community that didn’t have any hopes or plans for their futures and had dropped out of school and couldn’t get jobs and so were destined to be the homeless of tomorrow, we knew we had to do something. We believe it is our duty as a community to let these kids know that we care and to give them hope and opportunity… We didn’t think twice about leading and supporting this campaign. And we’re so proud to have our names on this building and so excited about all of the things that are going on inside to help end youth homelessness,” Stuart Rose said.
The largest portion of the campaign money went to the zone, which is a new Employment and Education center for youth at Daybreak. The building houses all of Daybreak’s employment program and YouthBuild Dayton.
Together, YouthBuild Dayton and Daybreak offer programs that build upon the youth’s employment or education. Daybreak offers a program that provides the youth with a job at Linda’s Bakery, a gourmet dog treat bakery, while YouthBuild Dayton offers the youth the opportunity to earn their high school diploma and GED while earning credentials in the construction or medical field.
As the region’s only emergency shelter for youth ages 18 to 24, it is important for Daybreak to keep expanding, said Linda Kramer, CEO of Daybreak.
“Our program is working as youth are getting jobs, learning how to take care of themselves and ‘moving out of the next’ into stable housing,” Kramer said. “We’re able to provide more services to more youth because of the generosity of the Project Rescue donors. And we’re able to provide these services day in and day out because of the generous support of our annual donors. Together, we are helping to break the cycles of poverty and homelessness and giving these kids a chance at a better life.”
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