Jordan Downs, a public housing community in Watts, is working with The Smidt Foundation’s Harbor Freight Tools for Schools and BRIDGE Housing on a program aimed at teaching teenage residents skills like carpentry and welding. The Smidt Foundation was founded by Eric Smidt, owner and founder of Calabasas-based Harbor Freight Tools.
The 15 program participants are paid while learning skills aimed at helping them find employment.
Jordan Downs is one of eight program sites in the area taking part in Harbor Freight Tools for Schools’ L.A. County Skilled Trades Summers initiative. Jordan Downs is in the midst of a $1 billion redevelopment which BRIDGE Housing is part of. It was first built in the 1940s. Its reimagining will include the doubling of residential units and the addition of retail spaces.
“The transformation of Jordan Downs goes far beyond buildings – it’s about quality of life for residents,” BRIDGE Housing President and Chief Executive Ken Lombard said in a statement. “We jumped at the opportunity to partner with Harbor Freight Tools for Schools because we’re literally putting tools in young people’s hands to help them prepare for careers.”
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The Midnight Mission, a downtown-based nonprofit, is celebrating its 110th anniversary this year. The organization, which helps families and individuals in the area, will host an Anniversary Gala on Sept. 7 at The Majestic Downtown to celebrate.
The event will have a cocktail reception and dinner as well as a silent auction. Golden Heart Awards will also be presented at the event to honorees including Vijay Gupta, Street Symphony’s founder and artistic director.
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USC’s Leventhal School of Accounting has named Andrew Call its new dean, effective Sept. 1. He succeeds William W. Holder, who is retiring.
“It’d be an honor to join this faculty in any role. To join as the dean is a huge opportunity, a unique challenge,” Call said. “I look forward to building on the school’s long-standing reputation through impactful education, research, and access that ensures our students continue the Leventhal legacy of excellence.”
Call joins USC from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
The Insider is compiled by Interim Editor Hannah Welk. She can be reached at [email protected].
