Greyston Foundation Inc

Programs: To put our program accomplishments in context, in the 1980s, roshi bernie glassman, now an internationally-acclaimed american buddhist social activist, recognized that the opportunity of employment is the gateway out of poverty and towards self-sufficiency. In response, in 1982 he opened greyston bakery to provide jobs for adults typically excluded from mainstream employment opportunities. He declared an open hiring policy, which offers jobs without pre-judging applicants. From this visionary hiring policy, a larger mission grew. Low-income apartments were built or acquired for the homeless to provide housing for bakery workers and their neighbors. Soon after, the greyston early learning center was founded to ensure that a lack of high-quality, low cost early education was never a barrier to work for tenants and bakery employees. As the aids epidemic spread, greyston responded by opening issan house -- housing and supportive services for people living with hiv/aids. Growing awareness of health disparities for minority communities and growing concerns about the environment prompted the creation of the community gardens and environmental education program. In 2008, greyston launched a workforce development program providing comprehensive hard and soft skills job training and job placement support. Building on our successful history of open hiring, greyston looks to launch the center for open hiring in 2018 to facilitate the widespread adoption of open hiring within the us and beyond. Most significant activities and how they are tied into our missionthroughout its history, greyston has been a leader in addressing systemic poverty through business innovation and social inclusion. This leadership continues today: in recognition of our use of socially engaged entrepreneurship to address urban poverty, greyston became the first certified benefit corporation in new york state - a designation bestowed upon companies which use business to solve social and environmental problems. Additionally, our 25,000 square foot bakery, located in southwest yonkers, is a leed-certified green building. Greyston bakery produces more than 30,000 pounds of brownies daily and over seven million pounds annually. In 2016, open hiring employees worked over 122,000 hours. In addition, 176 individuals were employed through open hiring and over 1,300 hours of training were conducted. Greyston bakery is capitalizing on its success with key customers unilever/ben & jerry's, whole foods market and delta airlines by expanding distribution to other grocery and foodservice channels in 2017, which we expect will lead to more open hiring opportunities this is an exciting time for this pioneering social enterprise. By providing a safe, stimulating, nurturing and educational environment for infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers, the greyston early learning center (the principal social program of the related greyston family inn not-for-profit entity) enables parents of young children to seek and keep employment. The greyston early learning center coaches and supports parents as they strive to advance their lives while providing for their children during the most vulnerable and important early years. To help children prepare for school, the center uses the creative curriculum (aligned with new york state's pre-kindergarten guidelines and common core standards). To accommodate the schedules of working parents, the center also offers after-school homework and recreational programs. Operating since 1991, since its founding the greyston early learning center has served over 2,000 children, supporting them on a pathway to becoming healthy, secure, and responsible members of our community. In 2016, 140 children were provided early learning and after-school services; 78% of these children met creative curriculum milestones and 420 hours were dedicated to parent-teacher conferences during the year. Greyston workforce development provides individuals with the skills and resources required to enter and thrive in the workforce by offering training, career counselling, and job placement as well as job retention services for members of the community. In addition, greyston offers training to young adults, ages 16-24. Courses are designed to be responsive to the current needs of employers and, thus, change from time to time. Current offerings include building maintenance, culinary and pastry arts, and security guard training. Program graduates receive certifications requested by employers - such as servsafe licensing in the food sector. In addition to soft skills coaching, resume preparation, and interview practice sessions, greyston workforce development also supports secondary students through the in-school-youth program. Operating since 2009, greyston workforce development has trained over 600 people and placed more than 400 with local companies, agencies, and organizations. In 2016, there were 105 graduates of training programs, of which 73% achieved employment. Greyston community gardens, a community center without walls, manages ten locations of safe and productive green space in a dense urban environment, nurturing a healthy and sustainable community. Offering community based environmental education, running the enviro-earth club, and creating special community projects, greyston community gardens supports the overall greyston mission of creating thriving communities. Cultivating an ethos of personal responsibility, community participation, and mutual respect, greyston community gardens harvests and distributes over 14 tons of fresh produce annually. Operating since 1995, greyston community gardens engages over 1000 yonkers citizens annually. In 2016, 491 plots were cultivated by community members, which produced 28,000 pounds of produce that was distributed in the community. Issan house (the principal program of the related greyston health services not-for-profit entity) is a 35-unit supportive care housing facility for formerly homeless people living with hiv/aids, 95% of whom have a dual diagnosis of mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction. Issan is the only facility of its kind in westchester county. Individuals residing at issan house have a permanent home and access to ongoing services while striving toward personal self-sufficiency. Each year, 40-50 tenants are provided with an array of specialized social services including case management, counseling, benefits assistance, life skills training, advocacy, appointment escorts, referrals to other services, and three nutritious meals daily. In 2016, 45 individuals were housed with multiple case management meetings offered daily.