October 12, 2011

Altria invests $75,000 to help improve the educational opportunities for Hispanic Youth across the country in partnership with SER-Jobs for Progress National, Inc.

SER National is proud to announce a strengthened partnership with the Altria Group. The Altria Group is supporting SERâ??s 2011 capacity building plan and providing a partial sponsorship of the SER Action Plan for Hispanic youth. â??We are pleased to provide this contribution to help meet the critical need for effective education and workforce development in the Latino community,â?? says Kathryn M. Fessler, Senior Manager of Corporate Contributions for the Altria Group. Today, the Hispanic community is facing an educational crisis, where only 58% of Hispanic students who entered ninth grade complete twelfth grade and graduate with a traditional high school diploma.[i] This crisis will have continued devastating economic effects if organizations such as SER National do not intervene. SER National has demonstrated success working with diverse populations, with a focus on its target demographic of Hispanics, through the provision of education- and training-related programming for over 40 years. Through partial sponsorship of the Altria Group, SER National will begin work on the Creciendo con Educación Report and Action Plan. This Report and Action plan will articulate the educational obstacles and opportunities for Hispanic youth in the United States in order to provide a foundation for improved services and programs through the SER Network and other community-based organizations. With enhanced and improved services that meet the requirements of business and industry, SER National will prepare youth for global competitiveness. The report will also provide guidance for policy makers and partners as we address challenges in education in areas where Altria has facilities across the country as well as all of the communities where Altria does business across the country. â??It is with the support of corporations such as the Altria Group that SER National will ultimately create more effective leading edge education programs for thousands of disadvantaged children and youth that will help them achieve high school graduation, and pathways to meaningful employment,â?? says Ignacio Salazar, President and CEO of SER National. â??We are proud to be a partner of a corporation such as the Altria Group that sees the need in the Latino community and takes action to help make a difference.â?? As SER affiliates across the country serve hundreds of thousands of individuals in need, SER National works to increase the competence and capacity at each of its local affiliated organizations. The Altria Goupâ??s support will also ensure that SER National is able to provide training and capacity building to our network of affiliates at our National Conference in October 2011. Our network of affiliated organizations that will be attending the conference will receive training and capacity building in many areas such as organizational sustainability, talent management, career coaching, and technology tools. [i] Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, "Diplomas Count 2008: School to College: Can State P-16 Councils Ease the Transition?," Education Week Vol. 27, Iss. 40 (June 5, 2008): 10â??11.