Roots To Boots Program Fundraiser

Roots To Boots Workforce Development Foundations

The Roots To Boots workforce development program will offer experiential learning opportunities as an addendum to the Horticulture Certificate offered by Cincinnati State. This opportunity to learn hands-on greenspace revitalization will serve as a powerful workforce development program for stressed and under-prioritized communities. It will also provide a strategic pathway to an associate’s degree from Cincinnati State. We are currently fundraising for this program and ask you to consider supporting our initiative! 

Cincinnati State offers an affordable and achievable education, whether students are looking for an Associate’s degree, Bachelor’s degree, a technical certificate, or a pathway to a four-year degree. Its workforce training program has also created tailored programs for over 150 area businesses.

Roots To Boots, grounded in the foundational partnership between KCB and Cincinnati State, will provide quality education, training, and financial support for young people who may be unemployed or underemployed and are looking to get involved in helping make their communities safer, cleaner, and greener. It will include job placement support with our local partners including Cincinnati Recreation Centers, Cincinnati Parks, and the Civic Garden Center.

Our primary objective for the program’s inaugural year is to establish a cohort of 8-10 participants. This program will connect youth with information, training, and certification in the field of sustainable horticulture and greenspace management. These trainees will work in conjunction with our Greenspace/Spaces to Places program to develop and design intentional and sustainable greenspaces across the city, focusing on neighborhoods with limited greenspace. Our objective is to help cultivate environmental stewardship in conventionally “underserved” communities and to leverage our position within the city to provide young adults with access to employment.