“Instead of budget cuts, the Job Corps Centers need to expand,” said Congresswoman Corrine Brown during a luncheon with the Center’s Leadership Team. Saturday, July 2, 2011, the Congresswoman visited the center to express her continued support for the Job Corps Program.

“This is not the time to start talking about cutting Job Corps programming, Congresswoman Brown said, “We need to provide more funding and expand the program to help more kids, and we have to be proactive, educating the community and those who aren’t aware of the program about the good work Job Corps does.”

With talks of possible budget cuts happening on Capitol Hill for FY 2012, the Leadership Team encouraged Congresswoman Brown to visit the center to update her on the success of the program. During the luncheon presentation, Center Director Samuel Kolapo, informed Congresswoman Brown that of the 5 Job Corps Centers in the State of Florida, the Gainesville Job Corps Center is ranked #1 in performance and out of the 125 Job Corps Centers nationwide; Gainesville is ranked #8 in GED/High School Diploma obtainment and #12 in Trade Completions and Certifications.

Throughout the remainder of the year, the Center’s Leadership Team will be busy writing letters of invitations to Florida’s Congressional Delegation to have them visit the center to see and hear for themselves how the program is making a difference in the lives of hundreds of area youths.

Mr. Kolapo thanked Congresswoman Brown for her continued support and advocacy for the program and expressed that we need more supporters like Congresswoman Brown, not just on Capitol Hill, but right here in Gainesville.