Last week, Wells Fargo & Company announced it philanthropically invested $25,000 in Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle (ULMS) to help African Americans with criminal histories chart a new course in life through its Career Bridge program.
The investment was part of Wells Fargo’s Economic Opportunity Grant Program. In order to strengthen communities challenged by the highest levels of unemployment, Wells Fargo awarded $2.3 million to 59 nonprofits across California, Alaska, Washington and Oregon.
One of the beneficiaries of the ULMS program was Dominique McDade.
“I did not have much of a direction in life and simply was going along with whatever came my way,” says Dominique McDade, who recently graduated from the Career Bridge program. “I have been able to find a sense of direction and a new lease on life.”
While attending Career Bridge, McDade obtained his GED and enrolled in the King County Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Education (PACE) program. He has now graduated from PACE and been placed in an apprenticeship program through the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle’s Priority Hire partnership with the City of Seattle.
“I started with just ideas and hopes,” said McDade. “The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle gave me tools to build on what I already had in me to meet my goals.”
