At a recent reception for Boeing Partners, Congressman Denny Heck opened his speech with, “We know two things about Boeing. 1. We know they have been very generous… 2. For a very long period of time.”

Our community has benefited greatly over the years from Boeing’s presence—from jobs at Boeing, to jobs at companies who support Boeing’s production, all the companies and services that come from having thousands of workers and their families in a community, and from the millions of dollars they’ve given back to the community through grants. “For one hundred years, Boeing has been a part of this community,” said Jenette Ramos, Vice President of Boeing’s Fabrication Division, “One hundred years. We can’t look back and take that for granted. We need to look forward. It’s an honor to be able to present the ten million dollars in grants that we’re giving to the community.”

Seattle Goodwill is one of the many recipients of Boeing grants. Our President and CEO Daryl Campbell said at the reception, “The partnership with Boeing has truly helped us in extraordinary ways…” One of the extraordinary ways Boeing has supported Goodwill over the years is by giving us a grant to help develop and expand our Youth Aerospace Program.

Our Youth Aerospace Program is a two-year program that aims to provide high school students with a smooth transition out of high school, and into a career in aerospace. Right now, the program only exists through our Marysville Job Training & Education Center, but with plans of expanding in the future. Each group, or cohort, starts during their senior year of high school with a summer youth program component that focuses on experiential learning, work ethic and service learning, and credential retrieval. Students participate in a variety of educational field trips to meet industry professionals and see manufacturing in action. During the school year, students participate in workshops, goal setting and case management, working with Goodwill staff to set goals and address issues that might impede full participation in the program. After graduation from high school, students move into aerospace/advanced manufacturing courses at Everett Community College (ECC), and will receive a certificate from ECC upon program completion.

The program is now working with its third cohort, and boasts some very impressive success rates. The program is still young, but of the 61 students that have gone through it, 93% of them graduated from high school, and 86% of them went on to college.

We are thrilled to have Boeing’s partnership and support of this program, and look forward to the incredible work that will be done because Boeing gives back to their community. During his speech at the Boeing Partners reception, Campbell reiterated, “We could not do it without the extraordinary support of Boeing.”

Thank you, Boeing. We are a proud Boeing Partner.