[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 3, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E966-E967]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE 2018 NORTHERN VIRGINIA FAMILY SERVICE TRAINING FUTURES 
                               GRADUATES

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 3, 2018

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize a remarkable group of 
individuals who are making invaluable contributions to our Northern 
Virginia community. Founded in 1927, Northern Virginia Family Service 
(NVFS) has provided assistance to tens of thousands of individuals who 
otherwise might have gone without the most basic of needs. NVFS does 
this through a variety of services, including homelessness prevention & 
housing, early childhood development, health & nutrition, mental 
health, foster care, and youth initiatives services.
  One program that deserves special recognition is the Training Futures 
program. Training Futures works with motivated, talented unemployed or 
under-employed individuals who have been largely overlooked in our 
communities, and who lack the skills needed to obtain better paying 
jobs offering real futures. Over the course of the six-month program, 
clients attend classes and programs designed to develop tactical office 
skills, including a Microsoft Office certificate that will better 
prepare them for a full-time, office-support position.
  Through this training, graduates gain the skills, confidence, and 
cultural know-how to excel in professional, office support positions 
across industries. This creates a powerful and diverse talent pipeline 
for local businesses. Over the last twenty years, Training Futures has 
graduated over 2,200 individuals, with 75 percent of those individuals 
obtaining employment in office careers within six months of graduation. 
These jobs not only pay 60-65 percent more on average than what these 
graduates previously earned, but they also provide regular schedules 
and real opportunities for professional growth and promotion.
  I meet often with Fortune 500 companies in my district, and a 
constant refrain among leadership is the difficulty in finding 
qualified applicants to fill their vacancies. This program and others 
like it help fill that gap, and put skilled professionals in positions 
throughout Northern Virginia. This provides economic benefits not only 
to our community, but to the Commonwealth of Virginia as a whole.
  It is my honor to include in the Record the names of the 2018 
Training Futures graduates:
  Bahtiye Top, Beatriz Silva Aldana, Caroline Thai, Catalin Enamorado, 
Chiharu Adams, Edith Chistelle Toukam, Elias Abebe, Elizabeth Degeffa, 
Ester Lopez, Eyob Gebremariam, Fannie Ndemou, Fatima Khachab, Fatma 
Saeed, Feyzan Hajiesmailoo, Geraldine Sierra Parrado, Jonathan Angles, 
Koshan Jelani, Kyung Wha Hong, Manal Abdelmalak, Mieraf Demissie, Muna 
Addus, Nasser El Kekli, Neelad Haidari, Nibret Kebede, Roxana Saravia 
Ortiz, Salome Messa, Seung Hee Lee, Sophia Hassen, Steven Smaw, Tariq 
Habib, Tsering Choedon, Victoria Slaughter, Wendy Medrano, Zabiullah 
Nekzad, Zarema Dugrichilova.
  Mr. Speaker, programs like Training Futures provide invaluable 
experiences for their graduates, while also helping them to create a 
better life for themselves and their families. I congratulate all of 
the graduates of this year's Training Futures program, as well as the 
Board of Directors and staff of Northern Virginia Family Service for 
all they do to make our community a better place. I ask my colleagues 
to please join me in wishing them great success in all their future 
endeavors

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