Foundation grant supports vocational training for at-risk youths

Diakon Youth Services has received a $10,000 grant from the Kenneth Bankert Foundation of Camp Hill to support vocational training for students in the Turning Point Day Treatment Program.

“This is the second grant Diakon Youth Services has received from the foundation,” says Tanisha Negron-Bailey, who oversees programs the Turning Point program in Lancaster.

“We appreciate the foundation’s support and are excited that $8,600 of this grant supports vocational training and workforce instruction,” she adds. That will add significantly to our efforts to provide work-related instruction to the youths we serve.”

Turning Point is a day treatment program that aids at-risk youths who struggle in a traditional school environment.

Participating students choose from either a career and academic approach or a school-based focus. Both offer training and experience in vocational training and employment, family relationships and skills development, and therapeutic leadership development. Vocational training includes emphases in culinary skills and construction.

The goal of the program is for every student to be a successful graduate and a productive, connected, and law-abiding member of the community, Negron-Bailey says.

For further information, please contact:
William Swanger, M.A., APR
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries
(717) 795-0308
E-mail: swangerb@diakon.org