Date: Mar 12, 2017 3:11 PM
Subject: News: Community leaders celebrate grand opening of Cedar Riverside
Opportunity Center
To: <<email obscured>>
Cc:
Emerge, Mpls and MCTC
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page
<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbXNpZD0mYXVpZD0mbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTcwMzEyLjcxMDE3MjUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE3MDMxMi43MTAxNzI1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE2OTEwMTM1JmVtYWlsaWQ9Y2xpZnRAcHVibGljdXMubmV0JnVzZXJpZD1jbGlmdEBwdWJsaWN1cy5uZXQmdGFyZ2V0aWQ9JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&100&&&https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNHENNE/bulletins/18c878d>
.
[image: Logos from Emerge, Hennepin County, City of Minneapolis,]News
release
Contact: Sarah McKenzie, City of Minneapolis Communications, 612-673-2786
<(612)%20673-2786>
Community leaders celebrate grand opening of Cedar Riverside Opportunity
Center
March 12, 2017 (MINNEAPOLIS) Community leaders and residents held a grand
opening celebration today for the Cedar Riverside Opportunity Centerâa
pipeline for jobs and educational resources with a special focus on the
neighborhoodâs East African community.
Anchor partners for the center include nonprofit EMERGE Community
Development, Hennepin County, City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Community
and Technical College. It is located in the first floor of the Five15 on
the Park building, 515 15th Ave. S.
The center will feature programming by EMERGE Community Development,
including workforce development, youth employment and education, and
personal finance tips. Hennepin County Library will lead a Teen Tech Squad,
develop programs that support cultural heritage, conduct employment-focused
learning circles, and connect participants to library and neighborhood
resources.
Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) services at the center
will include a career navigator who will provide guidance to pathways and
college programs that offer the greatest job placement and wage
opportunities and Metro Connect, a resource that allows prospective
students to find the most affordable college options available at Minnesota
State campuses in the metro area.
City Council Member Abdi Warsame said: âNow that the Cedar Riverside
Opportunity Center is open, people in the neighborhood can access a wide
array of resources that will help put them on a path to good jobs and high
quality education. The center will be an invaluable resource in helping
residents in my community find the tools they need to pursue their dreams.â
Key goals of the center include reducing the neighborhoodâs unemployment
rate and increasing access to a variety of educational programs. Employers
with a strong recruiting presence include MSP Jobs, Schwanâs, Hennepin
County, Fairview Health Services, Medtronic, City of Minneapolis,
University of Minnesota, Augsburg College and St. Catherine University.
EMERGE associate director Mohamed Ali, who oversees the centerâs
operations, said it has tremendous potential to change lives for the
better. âI am excited that the Cedar Riverside Opportunity Center will be a
place filled with opportunities for the youth of the neighborhood. There is
great need in the community for higher education, career skill building and
job placement. We will be able to meet these needs with credentialed
training opportunities and higher pay,â he said.
Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin said the Opportunity Center
will directly connect the neighborhood residents to jobs.
âCedar Riverside is a thriving neighborhood with a high unemployment rate,â
he said. âBy attracting the support of nine large employer partners, with a
combined workforce of over 30,000 employees, this Opportunity Center will
close the opportunity gap and reduce the unemployment rate by giving
residents access to jobs.â
Mayor Betsy Hodges said the center will help address the Cityâs
disparities. âThis is a great day for the Cedar Riverside neighborhood and
the City of Minneapolis,â Hodges said. âAccess to good jobs is the best way
to eliminate economic and opportunity disparity in our city. To truly
become One Minneapolis, where everyone has a chance to thrive, we have to
close that gap. The opening of this Opportunity Center is a bold step in
that direction, and Iâm proud to have been part of making it a reality.â
â 30 â