Duquesne Light Company Commits $225,000 to Help Local Veterans Find Employment
Funds will enable Veterans Place of Washington Boulevard to create a robust workforce development center
PITTSBURGH— Duquesne Light Company (DLC) has extended its partnership with Veterans Place of Washington Boulevard with a $225,000 grant to create a dynamic workforce development center for local homeless and low-income military veterans. The funds will be distributed over a three-year period.
Citing a “critical need” to expand the organization’s current workforce development space, officials from Veterans Place will use the grant to convert a two-story home on its property in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood into a multi-purpose facility. The upgraded location — which will be named the Duquesne Light Company Veterans Workforce Development Center — will have several activity areas, meeting rooms and virtual training programs to help veterans navigate their job search.
“We are very pleased with this sponsorship for the new Duquesne Light Company Veterans Workforce Development Center. Through the generous support of our corporate partners, we can better serve America’s forgotten heroes,” said Rob Hamilton, executive director of Veterans Place and a U.S. Army veteran. “Organizations like Duquesne Light Company continue to set the bar with their efforts to support our nation’s honorable veterans. This donation will allow Veterans Place to continue to serve our veterans and to aid them in securing permanent, sustainable employment for years to come. Without this support, we could not accomplish the life-changing work that our veterans so desperately need. This sponsorship will enable Veterans Place to answer the call to the unprecedented needs that are now facing our veterans due to the exit in Afghanistan and the financial and job insecurities incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Veterans Place is a nonprofit organization that serves as a resource hub for at-risk veterans who are experiencing homelessness and provides them with various resources and training to secure employment, housing and other services. In 2020, its Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program helped more than 120 veterans with job placement. The program had a 96% success rate and secured jobs paying an average of $14.80 per hour. Those numbers are expected to rise with the workforce development center expansion.
DLC, which prides itself on giving back to the communities it serves, jumped at the chance to bolster an already-proven program.
“Veterans bring many unique skillsets to the workforce. To be able to support them as they seek new opportunities is an incredible honor for our organization,” said Dave Johnson, chief customer officer at DLC. “We’re hopeful that this grant will enable Veterans Place to make their standout program even more successful.”
DLC’s support for veterans doesn’t stop with outside sponsorships. A-VETS, which stands for Allies and Veterans Energized to Serve, is the company’s Business Employee Resource Group that’s focused on veterans. It was created in 2020 to help increase professional development and networking opportunities for DLC employees who are veterans and/or allies.
As part of DLC’s growing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, the company continues to work closely with A-VETS and other partners, including Veterans Place, to attract candidates with military backgrounds to its workforce, and to raise awareness and support of issues that impact veterans.
About Veterans Place of Washington Boulevard
Veterans Place is dedicated to empowering veterans’ transition from homelessness to home — ending the cycle of homelessness — and to assisting all at-risk veterans to become engaged, valuable citizens who contribute to their communities. Donations from our community directly impact our population of homeless veterans, providing them with life-sustaining services. Join our community today by visiting VeteransPlaceUSA.org/donate.