AdventHealth awards $1.4 million to 6 nonprofits addressing urgent workforce needs in Central Florida

AdventHealth is distributing nearly $1.4 million over the next three years to the 2024 recipients of its Community Impact Grants, giving six Central Florida nonprofits the chance to bolster their missions and help bring prosperity and wholeness to the community by training the workforce of tomorrow.

This year’s Community Impact Grants are focused on one of Central Florida’s top community health concerns, addressing critical workforce development needs in the health care, construction, hospitality and tourism industries, by funding programs that will provide job training, internship and apprenticeship opportunities and education assistance. Workforce development was selected as the priority for this year’s grants based on input from residents in the triannual Community Health Needs Assessment, building on investments made in 2023 that focused on mental health.

“At AdventHealth, we talk a lot about whole-person care, and we also realize that a person’s health is determined by so much more than just the health care setting,” said JB Boonstra, executive director of Community Advocacy for AdventHealth. “We know that employment is one of the most significant social determinants of health and a key part of that is earning a living wage. This year’s spotlight on workforce development speaks directly to that.”

The median income for a household in the Orlando area is about $43,000, the Department of Labor reports — not even close to the wage needed to live in Florida for a family of four, which is about $66,300, according to the United Way’s ALICE report.

“Almost half the people who go to work every day don’t make enough money to pay the bills, and one of the biggest challenges we see here in Central Florida in terms of workforce development is access to career opportunities,” said Marc Stanakis, president and CEO of Jobs Partnership, one of this year’s grant recipients. “For a lot of people in our community, they just don’t know what’s available or what types of jobs they can pursue that would allow them to get on a career path toward economic mobility. For organizations like ours, it’s really exciting to see the change that happens by simply opening the door of opportunity for someone.”

The 2024 grant recipients:

• CareerSource Central Florida’s Community Health Champions program aims to create a career pipeline into the health care industry. Whatever roadblocks residents are facing, including language barriers, transportation challenges or unreliable Internet access for applying to jobs, CareerSource Central Florida offers a variety of vocational training and internship opportunities to overcome them. CSCF is upskilling health care workers who are culturally competent, empathetic and equipped to connect with the diverse populations they serve, making health care more accessible and impactful. Training goes beyond job skills, focusing on understanding and addressing the unique needs of community members.

• The Sharing Center’s ProjectRISE, which, in addition to the organization’s food pantry, homeless resource center and thrift store, aims to address poverty and assist residents in accessing higher-paying jobs. Funding for ProjectRISE will allow 360 residents to enroll in a four-week comprehensive workforce development program focused on building emotional intelligence, soft skills and job-acquisition skills.

• employU’s vocational rehabilitation program serves residents with mental and physical disabilities as part of the organization’s mission to create inclusive workplaces. Acting as a one-stop shop for career development and employment resources, employU provides employment training, paid work experience, job placement and job retention support. The organization will use the grant to fund new initiatives to help individuals access community resources and prepare for employment through workshops on financial literacy, social media safety and workplace readiness. It will also fund a program manager position to reach more residents and ultimately help them achieve financial independence.

• Home Builders Institute BuildStrong Academy of Orlando is a tuition-free program delivering industry-recognized skills to train a new generation of home builders looking to break into the construction industry. The Academy offers career-focused education through hands-on learning, classroom instruction and real-life experience. Students train with skilled trades instructors who guide them through HBI’s nationally and industry recognized Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Training curriculum and receive job placement assistance upon graduation, helping build a pipeline of residential and commercial construction workers.

• iBuild Central Florida’s Pre-Apprenticeship Program is an innovative approach in attracting more people to jobs in the telecommunications construction industry, which is currently facing mass shortages nationwide. Based at Osceola Technical College, the program targets students enrolled in English language-acquisition and GED classes, 80% of whom live below the federal poverty line.

• Jobs Partnership’s Stepping Up program equips residents who are unemployed or working low-wage jobs, combining soft skills training, career navigation and vocational training scholarships. Since its founding in 1999, the organization has served more than 3,300 people, empowering them to change their professional trajectories and developing a career pipeline into the health care industry. Last year, 79% of participants got a new job or started vocational training after completing the program.

Among the organizations that received grants, two are focused on bolstering the construction workforce. Central Florida’s lack of construction workers has contributed to a lack of affordable and attainable housing, with median home prices reaching $440,000, according to the Orlando Regional Realtors Association. And as the state wrangles with a shortfall of nearly 436,000 rental units, renters — who make up a third of the region’s population — have also watched rents skyrocket, hitting $1,600 a month for a one-bedroom unit.

“Virtually every industry is experiencing labor shortages, but the construction industry is significantly undersupplied,” said Emily Price, senior vice president of development and partnerships engagement for the Home Builders Institute. “The construction industry needs approximately 732,000 new workers each year to meet demand.”

Recognizing that employment and access to housing go hand in hand, Crystal Davidson, vice president of iBuild Central Florida, said creating a pipeline into the construction industry addresses multiple challenges. “They’ll be in a career field in the construction industry where they won’t want for a job for at least the next 25 years,” Davidson said, “because there is such a skills trade shortage across the United States, but especially in Florida.”

For more than 115 years, AdventHealth has called Central Florida home, and as a not-for-profit organization, has the privileged duty to invest financial resources into the community. In 2023 alone, AdventHealth contributed nearly $1.3 billion in community investments in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and South Lake counties, allowing more residents to access the medical care they need and deserve and supporting local nonprofit organizations.

“Investing in our community is a responsibility that AdventHealth treats very seriously and passionately, because we’ve seen the transformation that happens with these dollars,” said Tricia Edris, chief innovation and partnerships officer for AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division. “AdventHealth is proud to bring these six organizations together to now tackle issues around workforce development. It’s too big a problem for just one of us to solve. We must come together as a community.”