Award-winning men’s wellness brand Scotch Porter, recently presented Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN) with a $10,000 grant to support the data infrastructure of the network’s in-house initiatives, as well as its work with the Newark Youth Workforce Collaborative, a collective impact approach to creating a school-to-workforce pipeline in the city.
The Collaborative brings together leaders in education and workforce development, as well as local employment partners, to create an ecosystem that collectively shares data, creates pathways for career exploration, expands internships and apprenticeships, advocates for policy changes, and addresses wraparound support for youth as they transition into the workforce. As the backbone of the Collaborative, NOYN works to provide funding opportunities, capacity building, and technical assistance to members of the Collaborative.
“We are excited to support NOYN on their mission to re-engage Newark’s youth, while also drastically changing systems that inhibit their success,” said Calvin Quallis, Founder & CEO of Scotch Porter. “Newark is embedded into the DNA of the Scotch Porter brand, and as a descendant of this historic city I believe we have a responsibility to aid the advancement of the Newark community. Through our partnership with NOYN, we look forward to providing Newark Opportunity Youth Network with the access and resources necessary to drive their success.”
The Scotch Porter CEO has deep roots in the City of Newark. Quallis graduated from Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark before attending William Paterson University. After opening Center Stage Cuts in Newark, he quickly noticed how damaged his clients’ hair and beards were. In the kitchen of his apartment, he began to develop high-quality grooming products for men that won’t break the bank. In 2020, the brand moved its headquarters from East Orange to Newark.
The four pillars of Scotch Porter’s philanthropic service includes recidivism, education, job training and entrepreneurship. With NOYN’s long history with YouthBuild USA and as the backbone of the Newark Youth Workforce Collaborative, NOYN’s partnership with Scotch Porter mutually supports a mission to educate and improve post-secondary pathways to success.
“We are grateful for the support that Scotch Porter has provided,” said Robert Clark, Chief Executive Officer of NOYN. “These funds will enable us to further strengthen the education and workforce development ecosystem in Newark and, ultimately, increase the number of high-quality seats available for opportunity youth in the city.”
The grant funds will help support the Collaborative’s goal of creating a shared data system. By funding staff training on NOYN’s Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) system, the grant will enable Collaborative members to track student progress toward their goals across multiple sites, creating an inter-organizational referral system where students can seamlessly move from one program to the next on their post-secondary pathway.
NOYN is currently accepting applications from organizations interested in joining the Collaborative. For more information, visit www.newark-oyn.org.
A full list of members of the Newark Youth Workforce Collaborative is included below:
Newark Opportunity Youth Network
Essex County College Training, Inc.
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