Project 150
More than 6,000 high school students experiencing homelessness in Nevada are at risk and they need your help.
By / Jessica Kirby High school is tough enough. The work, the routine, the social pressure—imagine weathering it all while wearing the same clothes for a month and having very little to eat and having no where to go after the final bell rings. That is the plight of 3,300 registered homeless and 3,100 non-registered homeless, displaced, and disadvantaged high school students served by Project 150 in Nevada. Project 150 aims to provide essentials, like food, clothing, support, and vocational information to teens experiencing homelessness, and the 2022 Partners in Progress Conference is your chance to make a difference. “We are excited to once again support Project 150,” says Carol Duncan, SMACNA-SMART Best Practices Market Expansion Task Force co-chair. “It is rewarding to make a difference in homeless teenagers’ lives, so they know that someone cares and wants to support them to be successful.” Through the partnership with Project 150, Partners in Progress attendees can purchase much needed supplies through the organization’s website, make cash donations, and volunteer to create care packages on site. “In 2020, we put together 650 bags stuffed with breakfast and snack items,” Duncan says. “We also did an impromptu, 6 » Partners in Progress » www.pinp.org
on-the-spot fundraiser that challenged labor and management to outdoo each other. Through that effort, we raised almost $2,500. In addition, we raised another $3,000 online. I am a very competitive person, so I would like to beat last conference’s numbers in 2022.” Duncan says having a community-focused charity event like Project 150 at the 2022 Partners in Progress Conference establishes an additional layer of relationship building. “Bringing people together for a common community cause provides another opportunity to work together,” she says, and there are plenty of examples of that. For instance, in 2020, Sheet Metal and Roofing Contractors Association in Ohio and Local 24 each made a $500 donation to Project 150 as part of the Conference’s Strive to Succeed Challenge. Doug Mayse, president of SMRCA Ohio member Rieck Mechanical, donated another $500, when he was inspired by the partnership’s efforts. “Building a connection to something larger than each of us helps to build a sense of higher purpose that we can bring to everything we do going forward,” Duncan says. “Participation also impacts our own perspectives, not only at that moment, but also what we take home in our hearts.” Project 150 was founded in 2011 when a group of friends, including co-founders Patrick Spargur and Don Purdue
