Contact: Sarah McKenzie, City of Minneapolis Communications,
612-673-2786
March 12, 2017
(MINNEAPOLIS) Community leaders and residents held a grand opening
celebration today for the Cedar Riverside Opportunity Center—a pipeline for
jobs and educational resources with a special focus on the neighborhood’s East
African community.
Anchor partners for the center include nonprofit EMERGE
Community Development, Hennepin County, City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis
Community and Technical College. It is located in the first floor of the Five15
on the Park building, 515 15th Ave. S.
The
center will feature programming by EMERGE Community Development, including
workforce development, youth employment and education, and personal finance
tips. Hennepin County Library will lead a Teen Tech Squad, develop programs
that support cultural heritage, conduct employment-focused learning circles,
and connect participants to library and neighborhood resources.
Minneapolis Community and Technical
College (MCTC) services at the center will include a career navigator who will
provide guidance to pathways and college programs that offer the greatest job
placement and wage opportunities and Metro Connect, a resource that allows
prospective students to find the most affordable college options available at
Minnesota State campuses in the metro area.
City Council Member
Abdi Warsame said: “Now that the Cedar Riverside Opportunity Center is
open, people in the neighborhood can access a wide array of resources that will
help put them on a path to good jobs and high quality education. The center
will be an invaluable resource in helping residents in my community find the
tools they need to pursue their dreams.”
Key goals of the center include reducing the neighborhood’s
unemployment rate and increasing access to a variety of educational programs.
Employers with a strong recruiting presence include MSP Jobs, Schwan’s, Hennepin
County, Fairview Health Services, Medtronic, City of Minneapolis, University of
Minnesota, Augsburg College and St. Catherine University.
EMERGE associate director Mohamed Ali, who oversees the
center’s operations, said it has tremendous potential to change lives for the
better. “I am excited that the Cedar Riverside Opportunity Center will be a
place filled with opportunities for the youth of the neighborhood. There is
great need in the community for higher education, career skill building and job
placement. We will be able to meet these needs with credentialed training
opportunities and higher pay,” he said.
Hennepin County
Commissioner Peter McLaughlin said the Opportunity Center will directly connect
the neighborhood residents to jobs.
“Cedar Riverside is a thriving neighborhood with a high
unemployment rate,” he said. “By attracting the support of nine large employer
partners, with a combined workforce of over 30,000 employees, this Opportunity
Center will close the opportunity gap and reduce the unemployment rate by
giving residents access to jobs.”
Mayor Betsy Hodges said the center will help address the
City’s disparities. “This is a great day for the Cedar Riverside neighborhood
and the City of Minneapolis,” Hodges said. “Access to good jobs is the
best way to eliminate economic and opportunity disparity in our city. To truly
become One Minneapolis, where everyone has a chance to thrive, we have to close
that gap. The opening of this Opportunity Center is a bold step in that
direction, and I’m proud to have been part of making it a reality.”
– 30 –
| 
