Massachusetts YouthBuild Coalition joins
Red Sox Foundation and Covidien
to benefit Brockton VA Hospital

Roxbury, MA, August 18, 2008 –Students from Massachusetts YouthBuild programs have teamed up with the Boston Red Sox to honor men and women who have served our country by rehabilitating the recreation and adaptive sports therapy facilities at the Brockton Veterans Administration Hospital.

In partnership with the Red Sox Foundation and Covidien, a Mansfield based medical device company, YouthBuild members have spent the past two months working on projects at the VA and on Saturday, August 16, led the Red Sox Foundation Nation Service Day in which some 200 volunteers participated in an "extreme makeover" of the outdated VA facilities used by thousands of veterans struggling to recover.

Projects included: demolishing walls to create an expansive new space for weight training; installing new flooring; removing steel theater seats from the pool area to create a suitable space for storage and transportation of adaptive kayaking equipment; repairing the vets baseball field; creating new picnic tables; landscaping to create a park-like environment in the surrounding courtyard by removing shrubbery and iron fencing; and planting shade trees and refreshing surrounding flower beds.

YouthBuild leaders, volunteers and veterans were treated to surprise visits throughout the day by Red Sox manager Terry Francona and players Mike Lowell, Tim Wakefield, Jonathan Papelbon, Mike Timlin, Julio Lugo, Justin Masterson, and Jeff Bailey, who came to thank the U.S. veterans and those working to help them.

"The Red Sox wanted to serve the men and women who have so bravely served us, but we could not have taken on this big project without the skills and dedication of the talented team at YouthBuild," said Red Sox Sr. VP Meg Vaillancourt who heads the Red Sox Foundation, the official team charity. "Every step of the way, YouthBuild led this project and made it a success. The players, Covidien volunteers and all of us at the Red Sox agree — YouthBuild was the MVP of this rebuild in honor of our veterans and we are honored to be a part of their team."

"There is lots more that needs to be done at VA Hospitals and other places serving the needs of our vets, and we encourage companies thinking of similar employee service projects to contract with YouthBuild," Vaillancourt added. "Our partnership with them was a total home run!"

YouthBuild is a national nonprofit based in Massachusetts which is dedicated to helping low income and at-risk teens and young adults acquire educational and job skills. The project with the Red Sox was a unique opportunity to serve veterans at one of the largest VA facilities in Massachusetts.

The Red Sox Foundation also provided YouthBuild with tickets to a recent game at Fenway Park as a thank you to participants. This was a wonderful experience for the YouthBuild students, many of whom had never been to a professional sporting event or had never been to Boston.

"This kind of project epitomizes what the Massachusetts YouthBuild Coalition is all about," said Jim Hartman, a staff member from one of the Coalition locations. "We were provided with a wonderful opportunity to help Boston Red Sox Foundation and Covidien serve an exceptional group of people, veterans and the VA staff, and multiply the effect of resources.

"We were able to help volunteers have a wonderful experience. And, most of all, our students and staff members got to see the impact of their work on a community and to enjoy all of the benefits that come with it. We can't thank the Red Sox Foundation enough for including us in this exciting and rewarding project, and my hope is that everyone who sees this article will contact their local YouthBuild program to plan a service day of their own."

About the Massachusetts YouthBuild Coalition
YouthBuild programs in Massachusetts give underserved young people the academic and vocational training, leadership experience, life skills and confidence to take responsibility for their lives and their communities. Through hands-on training, students learn various aspects of the building trades. In so doing, they build affordable housing for low-income residents and help restore blighted neighborhoods. In a shared commitment to social and environmental responsibility, and to assure students a competitive advantage in the job market, Coalition members employ sustainable building practices and emerging technologies.

The Massachusetts YouthBuild Coalition is comprised of 11 YouthBuild chapters in the following cities: Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, New Bedford, Quincy, Springfield, and Worcester. The Coalition provides a forum for these programs to collaborate, share resources, build partnerships, and exchange best practices.

YouthBuild Boston media contact:
Andrew Padilla
617.445.8887 x15
apadilla@ybboston.org