SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The Lucky Duck Foundation announced a $1 million region-wide homeless employment and jobs training initiative Friday, aiming to hire and train people experiencing homelessness to secure long-term employment.
An anonymous donor gave the $1 million gift in grants to expand existing programs and launch new ones, including culinary skills, homeless outreach, community beautification work, youth support services and intensive job training.
The donor asked the foundation to focus on high-impact programs to help people on the streets.
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"The Lucky Duck Foundation is honored to work with our generous donor to establish a results-oriented, best-in-class strategy for reducing homelessness," said Stephanie Kilkenny, the foundation's co-founder and president. "The $1 million gift allows us to deploy much-needed funding into the region to enable individuals to receive on-the-job training and long-term employment with the ultimate goal of securing housing to break the cycle of homelessness."
Kilkenny said the foundation was anticipating more than 500 people to benefit from the new and expanded programs. It chose 10 organizations to help provide some of the services, including Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Dreams for Change, National Alliance on Mental Illness and the San Diego Community College District's Continuing Education program, among others.
"The Lucky Duck Foundation is providing a hand-up for our North County neighbors struggling with homelessness," said Greg Anglea, CEO for Interfaith Community Services, another one of the organizations partnering with the foundation. "Their grant to Interfaith Community Services funds job- training, interview attire, employment equipment and transportation from shelters to job sites."
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Lucky Duck Foundation is a nonprofit established in 2005 to fundraise for various causes. Since 2017, the foundation has focused on homelessness and providing resources and opportunities for those experiencing it.
