Westminster, CA. – Boat People SOS, Inc. – California (BPSOS-CA) in Orange County receives $20,000 in grant award funds from the Verizon Foundation to support the RISE-Workforce Development program. The RISE-Workforce Development program is designed to provide Vietnamese-American individuals and families the opportunity to learn critical English speaking, reading, and writing skills, as well as basic computer skills, to increase their opportunity for personal development, economic self-sufficiency, and community integration. With unemployment at an all-time high, Vietnamese-American job seekers are very affected by the ongoing economic downturn and are at a disadvantage when competing for jobs in the market economy. 

Last year, the Verizon Foundation provided $20,000 in support of the RISE-ESL Literacy program and another $25,000 through Verizon California’s Check into Literacy award program. “We are very grateful to Verizon for their continued commitment to supporting the Vietnamese community in their pursuit of economic self-sufficiency,” said Tiffany Nguyen Budzinski, BPSOS-CA’s Branch Manager. “This grant will enable us to expand our successful literacy education program to incorporate workforce readiness skills, which many members of our target population – vulnerable Vietnamese immigrants and refugees – often lack.” The RISE-Workforce Development program consists of resume building, career counseling, computer training, and mock interviews. The goal is to increase underserved community members’ overall workforce readiness skills so that they can better access much-needed employment and social services and achieve greater community integration.

Verizon Communications Inc., headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wire line communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. The Verizon Foundation uses its technology, financial resources and partnerships to address critical social issues, with a focus on education and domestic violence prevention. In 2010, the foundation awarded nearly $67 million to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. “We are pleased to support BPSOS’ good work and are committed to helping the Vietnamese community towards economic self-sufficiency” said Mike Murray, Verizon’s Director of External Communication in Southern California. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

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BPSOS, Inc. is a national Vietnamese American community organization with 15 offices located across the United States and four in Asia. BPSOS' mission is to empower, organize, and equip Vietnamese individuals and communities in their pursuit of liberty and dignity. The organization offers a web of programs in direct service, advocacy, community organizing, research, media, and leadership training to empower refugees and immigrants, develop active citizens, build communities, and grow leaders. 

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