Graduation Day for Clean and Green

 Congratulations to the 21 Newark United against Violence participants who graduated from the Clean and Green Transitional Jobs program on Thursday 11/20/14!  The ceremony was held at the Greater Newark Conservancy and highlighted the accomplishments of the group over the last 13 weeks.  NUAV staffers and Conservancy supervisors, Carlos Hidalgo and Ronnie Lytle, all gave encouraging remarks but perhaps the most inspiring words came from the participants themselves.  Several members of the group spoke about how Clean and Green provided them with an opportunity to change their lives and, though it was sometimes a struggle, they could always rely on the support of their supervisors, case managers, outreach workers and follow crew members who they now referred to as “family.”  As with any graduation, this is not the end but rather the beginning of  a new opportunity and we are looking forward to helping these graduates meet their next challenge head on!