Through diversity efforts and job creation, we’re making a difference in people’s lives and livelihoods.
THE POWER TO
march forward
See how Lonnie G. Bunch III helps visitors to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture learn from our past and shape our future through the lens of the African American experience.
THE POWER TO
forge a new future
See how Bank of America Merrill Lynch helped Baltimore’s Tradepoint Atlantic build a modern cargo hub and strengthen the surrounding community.
THE POWER TO
challenge perceptions
See how Erin Bailey and other Bank of America teammates with disabilities work together on the Support Services team, our in-house marketing and fulfillment operation.
Listen to Jack Crowe, Executive Director of Year Up in Chicago, discuss how they’re driving career growth and economic mobility among the underemployed.
AUDIO: Alexander Roman: I’m making a paupiette. It’s a black grouper wrapped in a thinly sliced, uh, potato. It’s EDWINS’ signature dish. Alone from it being a restaurant slash school, this place is definitely a new beginning.
AUDIO: Joe Dawson: Because of EDWINS, I feel like I have hope all over again. They specialize in second chances. That’s what EDWINS is all about. And I needed that second chance.
AUDIO: Brandon Chrostowski: EDWINS uses culinary training to help men and women returning home from prison find long-term success. This program is engineered to challenge. It’s like this break and rebuild philosophy. We set out a high challenge: you’re serving four weeks and then you’re bartending for four weeks. You know, and then you’re going through the kitchen. Slowly but surely what we’re building back is that muscle of esteem.
AUDIO: Alexander Roman: You’re starting from scratch. You don’t have any money. You don’t have a place to live. People barely have clothes on their backs or something to eat.
AUDIO: Brandon Chrostowski: I was so upset that a student here had to live in a shelter, in the back seat of a car, or in some toxic environment, because they had no other choice. So I said we’re gonna build housing. That’s it. And raise the money to get it open. The Bank of America Neighborhood Builders Award changed the dynamic in which our student body can learn. They were the ones to come in and helped us and not only finished the buildout of our campus, but they helped us with the operational expenses.
AUDIO: Nicole Palmer: I was staying at the homeless shelter and it was just a lot of challenges. When I got the opportunity to move to one of the dorms I’m like, “Okay, great.” I can focus now and it’s more, like, encouraging.
AUDIO: Brandon Chrostowski: With Neighborhood Builders, we have the power to offer hope and a way to achieve it. 262 graduates that have gone through this program. We have 1.1 recidivism. By the time you come out of here, you’re like, “I can do anything.”
AUDIO: Nicole Palmer: It makes me feel like that I’m on the right track.
AUDIO: Joe Dawson: You know you talk to other graduates that come back and they always say, you know, that EDWINS will open doors for you.
AUDIO: Alexander Roman: I was once a student and now I’m the sous-chef here at EDWINS. You know, use me as your stepping stone. Let me give you that little push.
AUDIO: Joe Dawson: I learned that I am a soldier. I am stronger than what I thought.
AUDIO: Brandon Chrostowski: Here, we’re showing that if you give someone a fair and equal opportunity, you offer support, someone can find a more powerful yes.
AUDIO: Joe Dawson: I have a chance to make an impact. I have a chance to enjoy the rest of my life with my family. And it’s only because of EDWINS.
GRAPHIC: Since 2004, Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program has: Partnered with 1,000+ nonprofits in 49 communities Advanced the leadership of 2,000+ nonprofit executives Invested more than $220 million to build more sustainable communities…and counting
Lonnie Bunch: History isn’t reserved for black and white photos covered in dust. We have the power to make history With every song recorded. With every hashtag created. With every barrier broken. History is alive And we make it everyday
Demane: We’re proud to support our partner Lonnie Bunch the III who brings history to life during Black History Month and every other day of the year.
We’re gonna be working on your backhands. Nice, nice! Good! There we go. Nice, one more!
[SUPER: Tyler Kennedy, Bank of America]
[Tyler Kennedy] I got this letter,it said Special Olympics on it. And I opened it, and it says, “Congratulations, you got selected for National Games.” I was in tears the whole time, I called my whole family, I was like, “Oh, jeez.” A dream come true.
[SUPER: Erin Bailey, Bank of America]
[Erin] Going to the USA Games is very important for me. I’m meeting new tennis players, playing against other tennis players that I never played against before, and try to beat their butts.[Erin laughs]
[Mark Feinour] Erin, could you come over, I Have something to show you.
[Erin] Ok! [Erin gasps] Thank you!
[Mark] I’m very proud. The whole division’s very proud.
[SUPER: Mark Feinour, Bank of America]
[Mark] Support Services is a major line of business here at Bank of America that provides warehousing, fulfillment, and print production. We just happen to have a different talent pool that we employ here, where all of our employees have a cognitive and/or developmental disability. Bank of America has a long history with Special Olympics. The one benefit that we have of having athletes work here, a lot of what they learn on the court or in the pool, carries over to here in the workplace. The dedication, the pride, the ability to learn, and do better, makes them not only better athletes but also makes them better employees.
[SUPER: Coach Mary Moore]
[Mary Moore] Erin is so proud of having her job. She loves going every day. She has been given so much opportunity by Bank of America. Special Olympics is so important because it really raises your self esteem. She is just, like a role model to everyone else.
[Erin] Go right arm over.
[Group] Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
[Erin] Think positive. You can do this. Don’t put yourself down. A couple times I had to say to myself, I was like, “Ok Erin, just focus, come back to earth, (laughter), and you can do it.” And.. I did it.
[SUPER: Coach Michelle Goldstein]
[Michelle] To go the distance, you have to be set in knowing that that’s a lot of work. If you’re able to do 40 laps, that is unbelievable. So if he can go 40 laps, he can do anything he sets his mind to, whether he’s in Special Olympics, whether he’s out there in his day to day job, I just feel like he’s zero to a hundred, and he gives a hundred percent no matter what. He’s a team player, he cheers the team on, “Let’s do this again. Here, we can do two more laps.” High fives the teammates, which is great.
[Tyler] Go for your goal, do what you have to do, and do it. As long as you have a goal, a dream, go for it.
[Erin] My coworkers are like, very excited for me. They’re like, “You gotta bring home the gold.” I’m like, “Ok, I will try to bring home the gold.” [Erin laughs]
[Tyler] I think everyone’s proud of me. My family, my coaches, my family here at Bank of America, everybody is just very proud of me, of doing what I’m doing.
AaronVO: Sparrows Point is more than just a place. It’s an identity, for the people in and around Baltimore.
[Visual of Steel mill at sunset, “The power to forge a new future” center screen]
Bethlehem steel provided for a lot of our infrastructure that we know today.
[Visual of black and white photo of steel mill, “Sparrows Point, Baltimore County, MD appears as a lower third, steel bridge]
It was a sight that once employed thirty thousand people.
[Visual of black and white photo of men sitting on steel beams, older couple in their home]
FemaleVO: My dad worked there for forty four years. My grandpop worked there.
[Visual of older couple in their home]
FemaleVO: I remember going across the Francis Scott Key bridge, and you’d see that star. And they called it the star of Bethlehem.
[Visual of cars going over a bridge, Second older couple in a restaurant, old footage of start at the top of the mill]
AaronVO: As the economy began to shift, it became harder for places like Sparrows Point to compete in the global market place.
[Visual of Aaron Tomarchio, VP of Corporate Affairs, Tradepoint Atlantic, old run-down warehouse and boarded up buildings]
PhilVO: All of us never thought that the plant would actually shut down.
[Visual of workers sitting and standing around a room together]
MaleVO: When they turned that star out, I thought it’s finished. [Visual of workshop with neon sign reading “God Bless America”, tools and hard hats lay on a table]
PhilVO: From the outset when Tradepoint Atlantic took over,they started inviting the community in.
[Visual of “After years of neglect,the old steel mill was bought by Tradepoint Atlantic. ”Overwater, Tradepoint Atlantic water tower in a steel mill, worker speaks to camera]
EricVO: We said we are going to create a one of a kind industrial logistics campus.
[Visual of trucks rolling around the mill, Eric Gilbert, Chief Development Officer, TradepointAtlantic]
AaronVO: We’re remediating 125 years of steel making.
[Visual of smoke stack being torn down]
We’re cleaning up the actual ground. And then when you clean up the ground, you also cleanup the ground water.
[Visual of the mill being cleaned up,clean water is running through a duct]
FemaleVO: Five years ago you couldn’t see to the bottom of our creek, and now you can see to the bottom of the creek.
[Visual of two women in their home, creek being shown from a birds eye view]
KerryDoyle: We’ve been partnered with Bank of America for the last three years. They’ve understood the broader vision of the project.
[Visual of birds flying over the water with the mill in the distance, Kerry Doyle, Chief Commercial Officer, Tradepoint Atlantic]
AaronVO: One of the commitments that was made was jobs.
[Visual of different men working]
PhilVO: The last couple years I’ve seen what their vision is.
[Visual of men and women working on the mill being updated]
AaronVO: This is a unique thirty one hundred acre industrial site in the middle of a major metropolitan area.When you connect it to multiple modes of transportation,like a deep water port, a short line railroad and a highway, you open up a lot of possibilities for multiple tenants.
[Visual of overview of the mill space, boats on the water,trains running and cars driving on a highway from a bird’s eye view, men and women working in the new mill]
KerryVO: The scale of this project is enormous. Tradepoint is positioned to be the largest hub for East Coast commerce creating over seventeen thousand jobs.
[Visual of the levels of the new plant, “Over 17,000 jobs will come from tenants that Tradepoint Atlantic is bringing to the site. ”Is shown center screen over the mill]
The success of this project means the success of the surrounding community. I think that’s really at the center of everything that we’re doing here.
[Visual of a man playing pool, a man cooking on a grille, a man laughing in a bar, friends sitting around a table talking]
FemaleVO: The first time we saw the star relit, it’s hard to explain what it was like. It’s just wonderful.
[Visual of star lighting up, kids looking up at the start holding sparklers, older couple in their home]
AaronVO: If we can find a way to translate what a global economy means here, then we should have the power to replicate that across our nation and share that message of hope.
[Visual of kids holding sparklers up to the star, bridge at sunset, “What would you like the power to do?” shows center screen over the mill]
End card:
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
We are proud to work with Tradepoint Atlantic, who is committed to bringing jobs and prosperity back to the Baltimore community.
General disclaimer for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, visit baml.com/disclaimer
Onscreen Text: Neighborhood Builders Podcast Closing the Opportunity Divide with Year Up
Edgar Rosales: I'm the oldest of three siblings. My parents and I immigrated from Mexico when I was six years old. And to me, that creates an identity crisis as to where do I belong, where really is home?
- Going through that, I think I excelled in elementary school. I'm very competitive. I got into high school and it was around sophomore year of high school where it really began to dawn on me that I didn't have the same opportunities as other people.
Alicia Burke: As a high school graduate, Chicago's Edgar Rosales wanted to pursue a career in IT, but didn't have the network or experience to move on from his job in retail.
- It was a goal that felt nearly impossible due to a lack of opportunity.
Jack Crowe: Our mission is to provide opportunity to young people who lack opportunity. Our mission isn't to tinker with the opportunity divide. It's to close the opportunity divide.
Alicia: That's Jack Crowe, Executive Director of Year Up in Chicago. Year Up trains young people to learn basic workforce skills, providing a network of support as well as internship opportunities. I'm Alicia Burke. On this episode of the Neighborhood Builders podcast, Jack, Edgar, and I will talk about providing opportunity to a huge overlooked workforce and having the power to put Chicago youth on the path to life-long careers.
- Well, Jack and Edgar, thank you so much for participating in this this morning.
Edgar: It's our pleasure.
Jack: Yeah, it's exciting to be in a sound studio.
Alicia: We're thrilled to have you. To start, can you describe Year Up's mission in the community, particularly as it relates to young people?
Jack: Really what we're doing in Chicago is connecting talent to a market demand that companies have for what we call middle-skill workers. And we reverse engineer our program to train young adults to meet the specific market demand, whether it's financial operations, IT, cybersecurity, project management.
- About 50,000 young people in Chicago and about 150,000 young people across the greater metro area who are disconnected from opportunity, could be mental health, could be related to housing, transportation, daycare, wide variety of forces that can get in the way of them succeeding. They have grit, they have determination, but they don't have a broad network of supporters who can sort of connect them to the livable wage jobs that are out there.
Alicia: What does it mean to see a young person get a job from your perspective? What does it mean to you?
Jack: The marker of getting a job is just saying, "This is my city. I'm a part of it. I'm a valuable member of my society. I'm talented. I have something to add. I have my own voice to contribute to the body politic."
Edgar: I think every time a Year Up alum gets hired, it's validation that you can do this. It's back to embracing this generation as they are. Every time someone says yes, every time someone opens their door, that is confirmation that what Year Up is doing is important.
Alicia: So, Jack, can you talk about how Year Up has positively impacted the people that you serve, the high school grads that you see?
Jack: We do six months of professional skill and technical skill training, followed by a six-month internship at a Fortune 500 company. Our most recent class of graduates in Chicago are averaging about $43,000 a year in their first job, and these are young people who entered the program, probably averaging $5,000 or $6,000 working retail part-time and not being able to pay the rent.
- We have 1,300 young people we've served in Chicago in the last 8 years. So collectively, they're earning somewhere around $50 million. And so if you think about the financial impact, that's money being returned into some of the most challenged neighborhoods in Chicago.
Alicia: And from what you're saying, Jack, it's what you see is the good feeding on good. It's all connected. So they're getting these jobs, they're putting money into the community, they're feeling good. It's all connected. And you've witnessed this, you're watching it happen.
Jack: Yeah. The easy stuff is, you know, learning to be on time, learning to dress professionally, but...that's Year Up 101. But the really 201, 301, 401 stuff that we do, I call it relaxing into yourself. I think a lot of young people enter our program living in a frenetic world and I think sometimes I observe young people literally relaxing into who they really are and becoming loving, professionals, adding to a team at work, taking care of their family, all the things that we want ideally for everyone in our society.
Edgar: I think that's one of the keys to Year Up's success and one of the reasons why it's so impactful to a lot of people and that's why alums like I continue to be involved and that's why there's a large community of people that are getting behind Year Up, is because they see the impact that it has.
Alicia: I love that term, "relaxing into yourself," and therefore then being able to thrive.
Jack: That's the empowering people part of it. We empower people to reach their own potential. We'll provide you with the tools you need, but you're really going to do all the work yourself.
Edgar: I think this is a...at least my perspective on Year Up is a second chance program. At least for me, it was a second chance. I was working retail when I was looking for, hopefully, an IT internship, and I think, if I remember correctly, I just googled "IT internships in Chicago," and Year Up came up. And I think this is an experience that Jack has had before. At first, it seemed too good to be true.
- So you mean you give me training and then there's an internship that I earn after, you know, successfully completing my training and there's a stipend attached to it? It really provided a solution to my situation at the time.
Alicia: So, Jack, you've told us about the critical impact that Year Up in Chicago is having on the city's youth there.
- And now can we talk a little bit about how Year Up was named a Bank of America Neighborhood Builders Award recipient in 2015? I know that with that, the organization received $200,000 in unrestricted funding and leadership training, which I know you took part in. What did the Neighborhood Builders Award mean for both Year Up and then, Jack, for you as a leader?
Jack: Well, it's about so much more than the money. We also got to participate nationally in several conferences, training sessions, where we got to...I got to expand my circle and meet some really wonderful people, some of whom I'm still in contact with. I interacted with some folks from Second Harvest up in the Twin Cities and they explained how by creating a lunchbox for diabetics, homeless people, they were able to reduce the annual emergency room visit cost, which can be literally something like...can be approaching a million dollars for one person with a severe case of diabetes who is living on the street.
Alicia: That's great. So really the money is, you know, a part of it, but really, it's this exchange of ideas. You know, someone else's challenges are very different and yet there's that exchange that happens where it gets you thinking about your own.
Jack: That was kind of like an aha moment for me about what can I do that's really... at Year Up in Chicago that could really be transformative, really move the needle on scale? And so those are the kind of thought leaders I got to hang out with as part of the Neighborhood Builder Program that is frankly the highest value.
Alicia: And can you talk a little bit more, Edgar, about what you felt Year Up gave you, what you got from it, how it positively impacted you, and where you are today?
Edgar: I think one of the biggest things that Year Up provides its students is an opportunity to push their boundaries. One of the quotes they use is "to be comfortable being uncomfortable." People come from these different backgrounds and they have a limited vision of what they can accomplish simply because they might not have ever really looked past their neighborhood.
- They might not have the network, they might not know how to network, and I think that's one of the biggest things. When I used to hear of networking events, I used to think, "Oh, that's not for me. I have no college degree. These people look nothing like me. I wasn't invited, so why would I show up?" And Year Up shows you that, you know, you can just...these events, people want to get to know each other and people are a lot nicer than you expect them to be.
Alicia: So what are you doing today?
Edgar: I'm now a client associate for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and I directly support a financial advisor. This, again, goes back to the biggest takeaway from Year Up for me was learning how to learn or being willing to learn.
Jack: Wow. What I've learned from Edgar is the power of openness to growth. He is a change engine in his own life and in his work experience. He inspires me to continue to work on the change that I need to do in myself personally and, you know, as the Executive Director of Year Up Chicago.
Alicia: And what you both said so beautifully is it really starts on an individual level. What can I do to keep being uncomfortable, to learn more? How can I push boundaries, whether it's in my team, in my company? How do we, in companies, in communities, redefine what we mean by talent?
Jack: That's the power of proximity. Too often in Chicago and in major cities, people are in separate streams alongside to each other but not really proximate to one another. So I think what I hear Edgar saying is the power of breaking bread together, of working together, of working in a team together and being from different backgrounds, that's what's going to transform our country so we can achieve our ideals.
Edgar: And I think that's one of the biggest things that Year Up can show you, is that, you know, the outside corporate world is not that different from, you know, you and I, and the young people that are entering the program are not that different from corporate America. They might look a little different, they might have a different story to tell, but when it comes down to it, they're still, you know, interesting individuals, intellectually curious.
- Again, Jack showed us that anyone can walk into a room and make friends in an instant.
Alicia: Jack and Edgar, it has been delightful talking with you today. Thank you both so much for joining me and for sharing your stories.
Jack: Thank you. Bye, Alicia.
Edgar: Bye.
Alicia: And, of course, thank you to our listeners for tuning in to this episode. Since 2004, Bank of America's Neighborhood Builders Program has invested more than $220 million in 49 local communities, partnered with more than 1,000 nonprofits, and provided leadership training and resources to more than 2,000 nonprofit leaders and counting.
Onscreen Text: Since 2004 Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program has
Onscreen Text: Partnered with 1,000+ nonprofits in 49 communities Advanced the leadership of 2,000+ nonprofit executives Invested more than $220 million to build more sustainable communities….and counting
Alicia: To learn about how the Neighborhood Builders Program gives local communities the power to address the critical issues they face, please visit BankofAmerica.com/NeighborhoodBuilders.
Onscreen Text: WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE THE POWER TO DO
GRAPHIC: David Williams, Haley House Bakery Cafe Manager
AUDIO_David Williams: Feeding somebody a good meal is one of the best things you can do for them. Having that good meal, that good wholesome meal, that puts a smile on people’s faces. And the fact that we have a mission and we’re here for the homeless, formass incarceration, for drug addicts in recovery. What we’rehere for, that brings people back even more.
VIDEO: Food/workers in Cafe, homeless person, prison fence, café sign.
GRAPHIC: Neighborhood Builders 15 Years and Counting
GRAPHIC: Haley House, Boston MA
GRAPHIC: Bing Broderick, Haley House Executive Director
AUDIO_Bing Broderick: Haley House is really trying to build community using food as a vehicle and everyone who passes through here is changed by it. The main areas that we address are housing, food security and job training. When we started our training program, we worked with folks who were in a lot of different circumstances and when the bakery cafefirst opened it was an opportunity to support people through whatever transition they were going through.
VIDEO: Vegetable garden, people in Haley House Cafe, brownstonesin town, workers in cafe, Haley House sign
GRAPHIC: John Lara, Haley House Catering DeliveriesAUDIO_John Lara:In my life, I endedup doing fourteen years in federal prison and when I came home, like me being inside,l lost like basically everything. And Haley House for me was like, it was a journey and it taught me howto be a part of the society, youknow,how to work. They actually -I never baked a day in my life and now I can make everything that we sell in this cafeand it’s amazing to me.
VIDEO: John Lara in front of brownstone steps andworking in café, food in café, flames on frying panGRAPHIC:Haley House distributes over 65,000 meals
AUDIO_David Williams: We all go through tough times. Life isn’t easy. So it’s basically just trying to walk people through whatever tough times that your dealing with. Because the worst thing for you may be different from the worst thing forme.
VIDEO: Guests in Haley House café, workers in café
GRAPHIC: Keith Gray, Haley House Wholesale Baker
AUDIO_Keith Gray: Haley House means everything to me. I’m not trying to go back to where I was and I’m not trying to miss no more time out of my kid’slife. I do the baking for the wholesale and I bake themorning for upstairs in the diner. They teach you the skills you need, introducing you to people, so it’s very positive.
Video: Keith Gray working in the bakery, interactions with customers in café.
AUDIO_Bing Broderick: As we were approaching our 50th anniversary,Bank of America reached out to us and told us that we were going to be the recipients of the Neighborhood Builders Award. At that time we were hoping to purchase our cafebuilding in Roxburyand the Neighborhood Builders Award actually really helped us with our down payment. When I came to Haley House I had to learn how do you become the visionary not just take care of the job at hand and the Neighborhood Builders Award actually offered me a lot of professional training and put us in touch with anetwork of people all over the country. And were great resources for information about how to do our jobs better. With our community partners we started a community garden. We grow food for the bakery cafeand for the soup kitchen connecting people to their food sources. It’s a really great thing to do.
VIDEO: Brownstones, BingBroderickworking in office, Haley Housesign, overview of city, customers in café, BingBroderickoutside Haley House, flowers and signs in garden, BingBroderickdriving, workers inkitchen, herbs ondisplay
AUDIO_JohnLara: Anybody who supports this place supports people like methat’s just trying to have a second chance at life. VIDEO: Worker in kitchen cooking
AUDIO_Bing Broderick: Because of Neighborhood Builders we’ve been able to empower others with skills and resourcesto advance themselves. VIDEO: Haley House entrance, worker in kitchen
AUDIO_JohnLara: People loves us around here, like I remember going on my delivery truck and just driving, people honking the horn. Haley House we love you guys. It gives me a good feeling to be part of this organization. And Haley House means everything to me. VIDEO: John Lara drivingcity streets, sunrise over city.
GRAPHIC: Since 2004, Bank of America’s Neighborhood BuildersProgram has: Partnered with 1,000+ nonprofits in 49 communities, Advanced the leadership of 2,000+ nonprofit executives, Invested more than $220 million to build more sustainable communities
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