Google Announces $100,000 Gift to Olivet Housing and Community Development Corporation for Jobs Training Program

At the local Grow with Google event Friday, during which more than 500 local residents learned basic technology skills at Tri-C's Hospitality Management Center, the Silicon Valley tech giant announced a $100,000 contribution to the Olivet Housing and Community Development Corporation.

The contribution will help fund the organization's new Neighborhood Collaboration for Competitive Employment Status program, which will train job seekers from underrepresented communities in basic digital skills.

The $100,000 will allow OHCDC to design the program, recruit neighborhood participants and purchase equipment.

“Grow with Google seeks to connect people to opportunity," said Olivet Pastor and OHCDC board member Jawanza Colvin. "The mission of Olivet Housing and Community Development Corporation is to create opportunities for people from communities which are disconnected and disadvantaged. We are looking forward to partnering with Google to do just that."

Google's Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kent Walker was equally pleased.

"From our earliest visits and meetings in Cleveland, we could see that the tech, nonprofit and small business community here is incredibly committed to helping bridge the digital divide," Walker said in a press statement. "This new program will empower hundreds of jobseekers with the basic digital skills that today's employers demand, and will support learners who are pursuing new careers in the field of IT Support."

OHCDC was one of many local community partners for the Grow with Google event Friday, which offered workshops, one-on-one consultations and tech demonstrations as part of a national tour.

In one presentation, Jesse Mason and Helen Qin, owners of Masons Creamery in Ohio City, shared their experiences as local entrepreneurs and premiered a short video telling the Masons Creamery story.