It’s been ten years since Project
JumpStart held its first class in the footprint of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Since
that time, more than 700 city residents have gone through the 13-week, 90
pre-apprenticeship program that prepares its participants for a career as a
skilled craft professional. Of those 700, 80 percent have graduated. And of
those who graduate, more than 75 percent have been placed in high-paying,
skilled construction jobs. More than 100 of those graduates have gone through
formal registered apprenticeship programs. In fact, last spring, the top
electrical apprentice in the Associated Builders and Contractors Baltimore
Craft Training program was a Project JumpStart graduate, who just seven years
earlier had been homeless.
Nearly 75 percent of the graduates are ex-offenders.
This past Saturday night, more than 500 people packed the Marriott Waterfront
as JumpStart celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Mike Rowe, CNN host of ‘Somebody’s Gotta Do It’ and formerly of ‘Dirty Jobs’
said Project JumpStart boasts an “astonishing success rate, especially when
compared to other programs that aim to provide a second chance to non-violent
offenders who served their time.” Rowe, who served as the keynote speaker for
the event, had also spent time the previous week speaking with past JumpStart
graduates to “learn of their remarkable transformation first hand.
To see a clip of those conversations, click here:
To get more information about Project JumpStart, contact Kate McShane (kate@jumpstartraining.org)