For Immediate Release
Press Contacts:
Saint-Gobain North America: Dina Silver Pokedoff, APR
610-341-7031 (office), 484-919-2103 (mobile) - dina.pokedoff@saint-gobain.com
YouthBuild USA: Charlie Clark
617.741.1288 (office), 508-274-1372 (mobile) -cclark@youthbuild.org
SAINT-GOBAIN AND CERTAINTEED LAUNCH THREE-YEAR, $550,000
PARTNERSHIP WITH YOUTHBUILD USA
---Grant Supports Expansion of National Green Building and Job-Training Program for
Disconnected Youth and Fosters Careers in Green Construction and Entrepreneurship
Valley Forge, PA, December 14, 2010 – Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed are joining forces
with YouthBuild USA to support its green education and job-training program for lowincome youth. At a national kick-off event today in Philadelphia, Saint-Gobain and
CertainTeed announced they are providing a three-year, $550,000 grant to support
YouthBuild USA and its Green Initiative program.
“As the world’s largest building materials company, Saint-Gobain is committed to helping
communities build and renovate energy-efficient, comfortable, healthy, cost-efficient and
durable buildings,” said Gilles Colas, president and CEO of Saint-Gobain in North America.
“With the help of our subsidiary CertainTeed, North America’s leading brand of exterior and
interior building products, we hope to help YouthBuild USA achieve its mission of rebuilding
the lives and communities of low-income, disconnected young adults, through its green
building and job training program.”
In addition to funding from the Saint Gobain Corporation Foundation, the three-year
partnership includes a commitment to provide energy-efficient products, building science and
technical expertise, employee volunteer support and more. The partnership will support
YouthBuild USA in its national efforts as well as undertake green home renovation projects
in four local communities where Saint-Gobain has business concentrations, including:
YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), YouthBuild Akron
Summit (Akron, Ohio), YouthBuild Schenectady (Schenectady, New York), and Worcester
YouthBuild (Worcester, Massachusetts).
Each of the four local YouthBuild programs will receive $100,000 in pass-through grants
over the next three years to engage YouthBuild students to learn green building techniques
and build energy-efficient affordable housing. Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed employees
based in these communities will volunteer to assist YouthBuild students in renovating green
homes.
Ten thousand disadvantaged 16- to 24-year-olds work toward their GEDs or high school
diplomas annually in YouthBuild programs. These young adults learn job skills by building
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affordable, and increasingly green, housing for homeless people and low-income families.
Since 1994, approximately 100,000 YouthBuild students have built 20,000 housing units
across the country.
Through the YouthBuild USA Green Initiative, YouthBuild students build green, energyefficient and healthy homes in their neighborhoods, gain green job skills and industryrecognized credentials, and develop environmentally focused leadership skills. YouthBuild
homes are increasingly earning high ratings from Energy Star Homes, the U.S. Green
Building Council, Green Built, National Association of Home Builders and other local and
regional green building associations.
“Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed are playing a key role in helping prepare YouthBuild
students for jobs and entrepreneurship in the green economy,” said Dorothy Stoneman,
president and founder of YouthBuild USA. “This crucial support enables local YouthBuild
programs to reach more young people who are out-of-work and out-of-school, providing
leadership and life skills, as well as preparing them for careers in construction and other
fields.”
The YouthBuild Philadelphia green home renovation project at 4620 Greene Street was the
location for the kick-off of this national partnership. The project, which will be seeking LEED
certification from the US Green Building Council, will consist of the green renovation of a
dilapidated building, vacant for nearly 20 years. The project is being undertaken in
collaboration with YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School, Philadelphia Neighborhood
Housing Services, Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed.
About Saint-Gobain in North America/Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation
Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building products company, has its North American
headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The company has over 330 locations in North
America, and approximately 19,000 employees. Saint-Gobain businesses in North America
include CertainTeed, North America’s leading brand of exterior and interior building
products, and Norton, the largest global manufacturer and supplier of performance engineered
abrasives. In the United States and Canada, Saint-Gobain reported sales of approximately
$6.8 billion in 2009. In 2009 and 2010, Saint-Gobain was named ENERGY STAR Partner of
the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a national award that recognizes
environmentally responsible corporations. For information about Saint-Gobain in North
America, visit www.saint-gobain-northamerica.com
The Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life for the
communities in which Saint-Gobain operates, and in which its employees live and work.
Saint-Gobain has set out to be the worldwide leader in sustainable “Habitat,” inventing
solutions to help professionals and communities around the world build and renovate
comfortable, healthy, cost-efficient and durable buildings. Saint-Gobain Corporation
Foundation support non-profits that align closely with this strategy through programs such as
YouthBuild that engage youth and communities in green building and renovation.
About CertainTeed
Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products,
CertainTeed has helped shape the building products industry for more than 100 years.
Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality
Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today,
CertainTeed is North America’s leading brand of exterior and interior building products,
including roofing, siding, windows, fence, decking, railing, trim, foundations, pipe,
insulation, gypsum, ceilings and access covers. A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, CertainTeed
and its affiliates have more than 6,000 employees and more than 65 manufacturing facilities
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throughout the United States and Canada. The group had total sales of approximately $3
billion in 2009. www.certainteed.com
About YouthBuild and YouthBuild USA
YouthBuild is a youth and community development program that simultaneously addresses
core issues facing low-income communities--housing, education, employment, crime
prevention, and leadership development. In YouthBuild programs, low-income young people
ages 16-24 work full-time for 6 to 24 months toward their GEDs or high school diplomas
while learning job skills by building affordable, increasingly green, housing for homeless and
low-income people and participating in leadership development activities in their
communities.
YouthBuild programs are sponsored by local community- and faith-based organizations and
public entities that raise funds from a variety of sources. Primary funding for local
YouthBuild programs comes from the U.S. Department of Labor under the federal
YouthBuild program, authorized under the Workforce Investment Act and administered by
the Employment and Training Administration. There are now 273 YouthBuild programs in 45
states, Washington, DC, and the Virgin Islands. 100,000 YouthBuild students have built
20,000 units of affordable, increasing green, housing since 1994.
YouthBuild USA is a national nonprofit organization that works to unleash the positive
energy of low-income young people to rebuild their communities and their lives. YouthBuild
USA leads the national YouthBuild movement and contributes to the broader youth and
community development fields in order to diminish poverty in the United States and
internationally. The U.S. Department of Labor contracts with YouthBuild USA to provide
training and technical assistance to its YouthBuild grantees. For more information, visit
http://www.youthbuild.org.
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