Foundation Announces Mission-Aligned Investment to The Do School

The Do School (TDS) has launched a dynamic construction training program that provides job training to four apprentices as they work to renovate a home in the Boston-Thurmond Neighborhood. TDS partners with apprentices who have barriers to securing sustainable employment, and the first cohort just kicked off last month. Once the home is renovated, proceeds from the sale of the property will allow The Do School to purchase additional properties and continue providing professional training opportunities for residents in Forsyth County.

The Do School Founder and Executive Director Jerry Anderson says, “We bring women and men from underserved communities into a live learning environment with training in the construction trades. The process begins with the purchase of a house that needs repair and has depressed property values. The house becomes a platform for training our cohorts about the various aspects of the home renovation process. Once complete, we can make that property available to purchase through a first-time homebuyer’s initiative.”

A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT AMONG PARTNERS
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A partnership between The Do School, Piedmont Federal Savings Bank, and The Winston-Salem Foundation helped to kickstart the pilot program with a loan to cover the cost of purchasing and renovating the first property.

Jerry Anderson adds, “Piedmont Federal, including David Barksdale and his team, recognized the need for such a pilot, and joined hands with us to secure financing. The circle of partners grew immensely when The Winston-Salem Foundation agreed to support this venture with a loan guarantee.”

Piedmont Federal Savings Bank President and CEO David Barksdale says, “This is a win-win for our community, with job-based training for those entering the program, which in turn leads to long-term employment in the home renovation industry. Once the home is completed, local homebuyers reap the benefits of purchasing an affordable home.”‍

ABOUT THE DO SCHOOL

The Do School (TDS) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on building economic mobility in underserved sectors of the city. Its mission is to promote collaboration in training a capable, sustainable workforce in the construction industry. TDS recognizes that training must extend beyond trade skills to incorporate life skills—a component missing from most traditional training models. To learn more, visit thedo-school.org.  

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ABOUT PIEDMONT FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK

At Piedmont Federal, our Purpose is simple: We Open Doors for You. We open doors for you to purchase a new home and to build savings; we open doors for your business to obtain the financing and banking services it needs; we open doors for our communities to be better places to live. Our Values form the foundation of this Purpose: Being Authentic, Building Caring Relationships, Doing What’s Right, Going All In, and Moving Forward. These Values guide how we do business and we believe they are our competitive advantage. We pledge to live these Values in our service to you. To learn more, visit piedmontfederal.bank.

‍ABOUT THE WINSTON-SALEM FOUNDATION

The Winston-Salem Foundation is a community foundation that supports charitable programs in the greater Forsyth County area. Founded in 1919 with a $1,000 gift, it now administers more than 1,550 funds and had total custodial assets of $606.5 million at the end of 2019. In 2019, the Foundation granted $58.4 million to charitable causes, $2.1 million of which was through its Community Grants program. To learn more about the Foundation’s mission-aligned investments, visit wsfoundation.org/mai.