WREX.com – Rockford’s News LeaderYouthBuild Rockford celebrates graduating class

YouthBuild Rockford celebrates graduating class

56 people are graduating from the YouthBuild Rockford program tonight.

A ceremony is being held at 6:00 p.m. at Memorial Hall, 211 N. Main Street in Rockford.

15 of this year's students received their GED while taking part in the program. 30 are graduating with honors, including five who will be recognized as National YouthBuild Honors Graduates by YouthBuild USA.

During their time in the program, the 2011 class helped complete construction on two new single-family homes and helped to rehabilitate six homes in the Rockford area.

YouthBuild is a year-long educational and developmental program for 16-28 year old people who are out of school and unemployed. It teaches them life skills that will help them land an internship or job in the future.

580 people have now graduated from the Rockford YouthBuild program.