Resilient

06/16/2026

Resilient's monthly dinner for June will be a picnic in the park(ing lot)! We will be enjoying the Salvation Army of Oakbrook Terrace’s beautiful brand new playground and the summer weather! Come for food, fun, and our speaker, Safe Families for Children Greater Chicago. RSVP using the link below or the QR code in the picture. This event is free and open to the public!

June 18 starting at 5pm | 1s415 Summit Avenue, Villa Park

https://forms.gle/YLbfUwg9SoTXQeKq5

06/13/2026

As you read the short article posted know that RESILIENT has a GREAT PROGRAM to get YOU ready for the construction trades! UPSTART will start back up in September! Contact us at [email protected] for all the info or go to www.resilientstrong.com ! DON'T MISS OUT!!

𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐇 𝐀 $𝟏𝟏𝟓𝐌 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐀𝐂𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐘: 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀 𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐉𝐎𝐁 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐃

Meta and Mike Rowe have launched America’s Workforce Academy, a $115 million program that trains workers for skilled trades — welding, plumbing, electrical work, fiber technology — at zero cost to the trainee, with a guaranteed full-time job at the end. The program is described as the largest private-sector skilled trades commitment with guaranteed job placement in U.S. history. Pilot cities: Baton Rouge, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Houston.

The structure is built to remove every barrier: no tuition, living expense support during training, NCCER certification, and a guaranteed job offer — not a resume referral, a guaranteed placement. Rowe put it plainly:

𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘻𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥.

That is not a government program, a grant, or a subsidy — it is private money with accountability attached. 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.

The trades have a real workforce crisis. The average welder in America is in his 50s. Electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technicians are retiring faster than they can be replaced, and the training pipeline that used to flow through vo-tech programs has been gutted in favor of four-year degrees. Meanwhile a generation of young Americans carries student loan debt for credentials that aren’t paying off. Meta is partnering with the National Urban League, the Associated Builders and Contractors, and CBRE. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞-𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 — 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭.

06/09/2026

Resilient is proud to be partnering with Way Back Inn to provide our Upstart workforce training and development services to young adults in recovery from opioid and stimulant abuse. Way Back Inn is a non-profit located in Maywood, Illinois that provides 18-24 year olds with free, holistic, culturally responsive recovery care to help them rebuild their lives and increase their recovery capital. Way Back Inn and Resilient share the belief that recovery is possible and everyone deserves to be met right where they are at in life to receive the resources they need to overcome adversity. We are excited to help give the tools needed for a successful career to young adults who are now building themselves back up, and provide the emotional support they might need.

06/04/2026

The nonprofit sector has deep roots in Christian belief. If you didn’t know, Resilient is proud to be a Christian organization. Here is how our faith impacts our programs and services:

Jesus Christ was and is the ultimate example and guide on how to live life. The principles of life and how to love others is shown to us through the Word of God, the Bible. All of our Resilient staff adhere to this, and most if not all of our volunteers do as well. Our character development and the root of all we do comes from Biblical principles.

We see through Jesus’ example that loving God and loving others is how we are meant to live in this world. All of our programs have a Biblical foundation of love, compassion, empathy, and service. Jesus met people where they were at, physically and spiritually. He didn’t expect them to be perfect or have it all together. He also called people to faith, to taking a step even when you aren’t sure or don’t see the whole picture.

We don’t expect those we serve to be perfect or have it all together. (Who actually does have it all together??) We do provide the opportunity for our participants to take steps. We won’t force them to take part and we certainly do not require they share our beliefs or faith in order to receive services. But they will get opportunities to make positive changes in their lives. We will love them no matter where they are at in life or in their soul. And we will always be there to be an encouragement, a shoulder, a hand, whatever they may need. We will show them the love of Jesus no matter what they believe.

06/02/2026

Resilient is a community development organization located in Villa Park. Our mission is to give resilience to all those that we serve. We do so by creating robust programs that address specific needs in the community.

Our Upstart program provides workforce development and technical skills training to allow post high school grads who aren’t college bound a chance at a successful, wealthy future that they might otherwise not be afforded. We also provide emotional support and mentorship to these young adults, some of which come from adverse life circumstances including poverty, broken households, and substance abuse.

Our Family Dinner is a free monthly meal open to the public that also hosts speakers from different organizations who can offer helpful resources to those who need them. We run this meal every month in partnership with a location and food pantry provided by The Salvation Army of Oakbrook Terrace.

Partner with us in our mission! Visit www.resilientstrong.com to learn more.

05/28/2026

Last week we hosted the Chicago Cage Bird Society at our Family Dinner and Molly was a huge hit! We learned all about the organization and how they care for birds and how we can support them as well. Thank you so much to Molly, Jason, and Kathleen for coming out.

Join our free Family Dinner next month on June 18!

05/21/2026

EVENT TODAY!

05/19/2026

This Thursday! Join us!