Press Releases
01/07/2019
Urban League’s Gear Up Program receives $10,000 from RG&E and Avangrid Foundation
Urban League’s Gear Up Program receives $10,000 from RG&E and Avangrid Foundation
January 7, 2019 - Rochester Gas and Electric, a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc., and The Avangrid Foundation has awarded the Urban League of Rochester’s GEAR UP Program $10,000 to offer scholarships for 20 high school students to enroll in career-focused courses through Generation Outreach, a local organization.
GEAR UP is a high school to college transition program that prepares minority and disadvantaged youth for college, work, and life. Specific services include academic support, counseling, mentoring, test preparation, career exploration, leadership development, and cultural enrichment. Generation Outreach is a local organization that offers five-week courses that expose students to a variety of careers, including careers in game design, web design, and video production.
“RG&E along with The Avangrid Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the Urban League’s youth programs,” said William G. Clark, President & CEO of the Urban League of Rochester, “This award will help support our mission of preparing Rochester youth for the 21st century by equipping them with the digital skills they need to be competitive in today’s tech-driven economy.”
Working together The Avangrid Foundation and RG&E are committed to supporting individuals and communities they serve. By providing leadership support for the GEAR UP Program, doors can be opened for underserved young people creating pathways for them to ultimately assume leadership roles in a wide variety of career fields. Supporting opportunities to learn about all that is possible and available to motivated young people is vitally important to Avangrid, The Avangrid Foundation and to RG&E.
“Great programs and organizations with proven outcomes deserve great support and we are thrilled to be investing in such a timely and important opportunity for young people,” said Nicole Licata Grant, director of Avangrid Foundation. “It is exciting to be part of making a difference and contributing to the future of tomorrow’s young leaders and workforce.”
The next class of students to take part of the “GEAR UP” program is set to begin courses January 14, 2018.
About the Urban League of Rochester
The Urban League of Rochester was founded in 1965 as an affiliate of the National Urban League. The organization’s mission is to enable African Americans, Latinos, the poor and other disadvantaged to secure economic self-reliance, parity and power and civil rights. The League has over 25 programs in the areas of business development, education and youth development, family and children services, housing services, services for individuals with developmental disabilities, workforce development, and economic development.
About RG&E
Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (RG&E) is a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. Established in 1848, RG&E operates approximately 8,800 miles of electric distribution lines and 1,100 miles of electric transmission lines. It also operates approximately 10,600 miles of natural gas distribution pipelines and 105 miles of gas transmission pipelines. It serves approximately 378,500 electricity customers and 313,000 natural gas customers in a nine-county region in New York surrounding the City of Rochester. For more information, visit www.rge.com.
About Avangrid Foundation
The Avangrid Foundation is an independent organization that funds philanthropic investments primarily in areas where AVANGRID and its subsidiaries operate. For more information, please visit the Avangrid Foundation section of our website: www.avangrid.com.
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About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. is a leading energy company in the United States working to meet the growing demand for energy for homes and businesses across the nation through service, innovation, and continued investments by expanding grid infrastructure and energy generation projects. Avangrid has offices in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Maine and Oregon, including operations in 24 states with approximately $47 billion in assets, and has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England and in 2024. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates more than 75 energy generation facilities across the United States producing over 9GW of power for over 2.2 million customers. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens in 2025 for the fifth consecutive year. The company was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About Iberdrola: Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies and a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
With a workforce of nearly 40,000 and assets in excess of €141.7 billion, across the world, Iberdrola helps to support 400,000 jobs across its supply chain, with annual procurement of €12.2 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €130 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
