First Niagara, Isaiah 61 Project providing job training for home rehabilitation

Bank will provide financial support for job training in construction trades and building materials for students' home repair projects

The First Niagara Foundation and the Isaiah 61 Project Inc. are providing the resources necessary for job training and housing rehabilitation services for residents in the City of Niagara Falls.

The Isaiah 61 Project will target a section of the community the organization has identified for redevelopment and revitalization. Job training and education will be provided in the construction trades for residents who qualify for the program. Those receiving the training will then work to rehabilitate abandoned homes and turn them into safe, affordable housing.

The First Niagara Foundation is providing a $10,000 grant to fund the program and purchase building materials.

"First Niagara is a proponent of initiatives that advance and increase self-sufficiency, stabilize housing, improve neighborhoods and encourage community collaboration," said Buford Sears, First Niagara regional president, Western New York. "We're proud to work with the Isaiah 61 Project to support local families and rebuild and revitalize our community."

"First Niagara Financial Group has a long history of serving and meeting the needs of those who call Western New York home," said Jim Haid, Isaiah 61 Project executive director. "This most recent grant, presented to Isaiah 61 Project Inc., will not only assist in rehabilitating vacant homes, but it will be used directly to lift up those in our community who struggle to find employment by providing them with hands-on job training, in a living wage field - the building trades. Hence, assisting those who are unemployed, under-employed and at-risk provide for themselves and their families, while at the same time reclaiming a city's housing stock. As you can see, together, First Niagara Financial Group and Isaiah 61 are reclaiming a city one home, one family, one person at a time." 

The First Niagara Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable foundation funded by First Niagara Bank, NA. In 2013, the foundation contributed more than $9 million in charitable grants to community partners. For more information, visit www.firstniagara.com/community.