Dream Builders Day

On Wednesday, May 10th the ADB team hosted students from Dream Builders for Equity at our Headquarters in Pacific, MO. Each of the students who visited were given the opportunity to shadow in different departments of our organization. Students sat down with leaders in our Engineering, Safety, Subcontractor, Recruiting, and Wireline groups. We had great day filled with tours of our yard, collaboration groups, and one-on-one sessions with our leaders. Our team truly enjoys the opportunity and partnership with Verizon which allows us to connect & empower students about our industry.

Quote from Dream Builders 4 Equity Co-Founder & Executive Director, Michael Woods:

"We believe that collaboration is the key to building the city of our dreams. We're incredibly grateful to ADB Companies, LLC and Verizon for their support and dedication to empowering our youth.

ADB generously shared their expertise, giving our youth an inside look into their work and showing them the ins and outs of their industry. This collaboration is a crucial step towards creating a pipeline that connects DB4E's talented young individuals to meaningful employment opportunities.

We are tackling the vacant home epidemic plaguing the St. Louis region by employing local minority youth and contractors to do large scale community-led development projects - putting money and equity back in the pockets of people within the community while creating workforce development and scaling minority-owned contracting businesses. "

The Dream Builders program was created to help youth develop the skills needed to succeed academically and professionally, while also retaining ownership and equity in the revitalized properties in the form of scholarship funds.

The program ensures development efforts protect against the displacement of current residents by providing renovations for seniors and grant support for property tax increases that disproportionately affect minority residents. The approach is in place to transform neighborhoods that have been historically divested in into thriving communities where residents can live to their full potential.