$1 million grant will help Project QUEST find employment for low-income individuals

SAN ANTONIO – Preparation, opportunity and hard work have earned Project QUEST a $1 million grant.
 
"The Communities Thrive Challenge Grant is a partnership between the Rockefeller Foundation and The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. And so we were informed in late November, early December that we were a recipient of a $1 million grant," said Project QUEST President and CEO David Zammiello. 
 
Project QUEST is a local workforce intermediary and has been helping low-income individuals get an education and attain high-paying jobs in-demand occupations, predominantly in the health care industry.
 
The grant was awarded to 10 nonprofits out of 1,800. The money will help Project QUEST expand its services and help those in need.
 
"We intend to use that to do more work in IT Cyber Space and into the trades and advanced manufacturing," Zammiello said.


 
Paloma Medrano enrolled in classes with the help of Project QUEST and has begun her career as a certified nurses assistant.

"My husband and I were at our lowest, and then we met people who took us to Project QUEST, and I took the leap. I went in, I did the paperwork, I put in the effort and now my life is forever changed. My children's (lives are) forever changed," Medrano said.

James Breyley is also on his way to his desired career path.
 
Breyley is a graduate of the cybersecurity program at Open Cloud Academy.

"I was in the insurance business before this, and I was doing basic low-level underlying (underwriting), but it wasn't really going anywhere. Project QUEST really helped me be able to get where I want to be as far as following my passions," Breyley said.
 
Breyley said he plans to one day work for Rackspace and is thankful for the assistance he received at Project QUEST.
 
Project QUEST currently graduates about 350 to 400 people a year and hopes to help more people looking to get ahead in life with the $1 million grant it received.


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