MY TURN Announces Bright Futures Award Recipients

Manchester, New Hampshire – MY TURN – an organization that provides underserved youth with pathways out of poverty through academic and employment training – has announced the following 2017 Bright Futures award recipients: LNA Health Careers as Training Provider of the Year, Angelica (Salas) Resto as Alumni of the Year, C&M Machine Products of Hudson as Employer of the Year, and Brendan Kendall as Participant of the Year. Award recipients will be recognized at MY TURN’s Third Annual Bright Futures Social Event and Fundraiser on Thursday, April 27 from 5:30 to 8:00 pm at the Derryfield Country Club, 625 Mammoth Road, Manchester.

“It’s an honor to recognize this year’s award recipients who were nominated by MY TURN staff and selected for their embodiment of our organization’s five core values: empowerment, enthusiasm, integrity, relentlessness and excellence,” said Allison Joseph, MY TURN executive director. “I look forward to celebrating each winner and also recognizing the hard work of the individuals and locally owned businesses that make our organization possible.”

LNA Health Careers (LNAHC) has been one of MY TURN’s strongest training partners for the last decade and since July of 2017 has provided training to 12 participants across the state of New Hampshire. Over 90% of MY TURN participants who complete their training at LNAHC go on to pass the State of NH Nursing Board Exam and 73% are working in the nursing field within weeks of graduation. In addition, many of MY TURN’s alumni who began their training at LNAHC have gone on to pursue bachelor’s degrees in nursing.

Rebecca Ling, director of student affairs, will be accepting the award on behalf of LNA Health Careers.

Angelica (Salas) Resto graduated from the MY TURN program at Nashua North High School in 2008. While in the program, she attended a job fair hosted by MY TURN where she applied for positions at Home Depot, Burger King, and Triangle Credit Union among others and was invited to interview for a part time teller position at Triangle Credit Union. She was immediately hired. Nearly nine years later, Resto is now the branch manager at the DW Triangle Credit Union. A mother of two, Resto often comes back to speak to MY TURN current participants about financial literacy and careers in banking and is a role model for participants.

C&M Machine Products of Hudson, is a world class supplier of precision engineered, designed, and manufactured metal parts and components. They have been providing work-based learning and employment opportunities to participants in MY TURN’s manufacturing program for nearly three years. C&M Machine Products currently employ two MY TURN participants and has invested significant resources in training over the past several years.

Dan Villemaire, president of C&M Machine Products, will be accepting the award on behalf of C&M.

Brendan Kendall is a 19 year old graduate of Nashua High School South. During high school Kendall sustained a traumatic brain injury and a broken neck during a wrestling match. He completed, and won, that match before realizing the severity of his injury. Kendall joined the MY TURN manufacturing program just weeks after graduating from high school with a goal to obtain employment at BAE Systems. Within one month of enrolling, he began the microelectronics program at Nashua Community College (NCC) and 10 weeks later, Kendall accepted his dream job at BAE Systems. He will be returning to NCC this summer to continue his education and pursue a degree in engineering.

MY TURN helps youth located primarily in Southern New Hampshire develop their skills, goals, and self-confidence through alternative education, post-secondary planning, career exploration and employment training. Programs work in concert with local partners including high-schools, employers, colleges and social service agencies to provide a holistic approach to serving youth.

The organization seeks to raise $40,000 at the Bright Futures event on April 27 to help close the gap on some of the most critical expenses that existing grants don’t otherwise cover. Funds raised will directly support tuition, transportation, housing and supportive services for current and future participants of the program.

Major sponsors of the Bright Futures event include Keller Williams Realty Metropolitan – Bedford, FEEDNH.org – Great New Hampshire Restaurants’ Charitable Trust, and Cookson Strategic Communications.

To learn more contact Executive Director Allison Joseph at (603) 321-3416, ajoseph@my-turn.org or visit my-turn.org.

About MY TURN

MY TURN provides underserved young people with pathways out of poverty through academic and employment training in a supportive environment. We currently operate eight programs from Franklin, NH to Fitchburg, MA with the bulk of our programs in Southern New Hampshire, and we have plans to expand. We provide critical services to vulnerable youth populations to help them achieve their academic and employment goals and ultimately achieve self-sufficiency. MY TURN targets young people who are low income, homeless, court involved, high school drop outs, pregnant/parenting, basic skills deficient, English language learners, and disabled.

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