March 23, 2012, Rock Springs, Wyo. — The Rocky Mountain Power Foundation has awarded a $2,000 grant to CLIMB Wyoming’s Sweetwater Area program to support efforts to help single mothers achieve self-sufficiency through training and placement in higher-paying careers.

According to Bridget Giovale, CLIMB’s Sweetwater Area program director, the grant will be used to continue the efforts of helping its participants using a unique program model featuring a combination of job training, job placement, counseling and life-skills training.

Additionally, according to the most recent findings from Kids Count Data Center, nearly 45 percent of all Wyoming children raised in single-parent families are living in poverty, making this a particularly important issue to support.

In the Sweetwater area, CLIMB is working to reverse this trend by training women in higher-paying fields including the healthcare, construction and extraction industries. Statistics prove that the efforts are working. In this location:

• the CLIMB Wyoming program has a 90% graduate rate

• prior to joining the program, less than half of participants are employed, all in low-wage jobs; two years following program completion 83% are employed in higher-paying jobs before joining CLIMB, participants’ average monthly wage income was $1,127; after completing CLIMB, these women earn an average of $2,665 monthly.

“The Rocky Mountain Power Foundation is pleased to support CLIMB Wyoming and contribute to the success of families in our communities,” said Craig Nelson, Rocky Mountain Power customer and community manager.

“This grant award from Rocky Mountain Power Foundation provides an opportunity to continue helping CLIMB participants reach economic security,” Giovale said. “Through our partnership with the Foundation, we are able to strengthen families in the Sweetwater area through solid employment and financial stability that will be felt for generations to come.”