Houston Chronicle | By Katherine Feser Published 2:59 pm, Thursday, September 21, 2017

Click here to read the story on Chron.com

Houston-based Genesys Works has been awarded a $5 million grant from Ballmer Group to support its work in providing career training programs and internships for high school seniors in a growing number of cities.

The philanthropic organization, founded by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his wife Connie, made the five-year grant to support programs in the Chicago, Houston, Twin Cities, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. areas, as well as future cities.

“This investment will allow us to connect more students with 21st century careers through work-based learning, year-long internships and college and career coaching,” Genesys Works CEO and founder Rafael Alvarez said in an announcement. “We look forward to increasing our expansion efforts to support more youth and their communities across the nation by providing thousands of students the opportunity to achieve career success and a lifetime of economic self-sufficiency.”

Genesys Works provides eight weeks of training for rising students, who then gain experience at year-long, paid internships at participating companies. The nonprofit social enterprise was founded 15 years ago.

“Quality training, coaching and work experiences can all improve college and career success for low-income students,” Jeff Edmondson of Ballmer Group said in an announcement.