Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Lealaifuaneva Peter E. Reid Charitable Foundation awarded charitable grants for Year 2021 for more than $89,000, to the Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago and the Boys & Girls Club of American Samoa, on Thursday, January 7, 2021.

The Foundation’s president Olivia Cecilia Reid, accompanied by her daughter, Annaura Florence Reid-Gillet — granddaughter of Lealaifuaneva Peter E. Reid, Jr. — presented the awards to the recipients.

For the Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago four (4) projects are being funded:

1)  Hope House — $21,000.00 (repair the nursing office and repaint the exterior of the Hope House facility)

2)  St. Theresa Elementary — $16,000.00 (purchase 100 desk/chair combos)

3)  Marist St. Francis Elementary — $8,100.00 (install a covered walkway connecting the new school building with the original wing)

4)  Fatuoaiga Montessori School — $15,000.00 (install a perimeter fence around the school for safety/security of its students)

For the Boys & Girls Club of American Samoa a skills initiative is being funded:

An award of $29,100 for — “Bridging the Skills Gap Workforce Development Initiative” — It is an initiative that focuses on preparing young people for an increasingly competitive global workforce. It's meant to help bridge the gap between young people and meaningful employment. 

According to BGCAS, today's teens face too few opportunities to develop leadership skills to access college and career readiness programs and to connect their passions with clear goals.  It's projected that, by 2022,  Five (5) million jobs will go unfilled because of a lack of workers with adequate post-secondary credentials or trade skills. 

Through this program, participants will:  1) Become first-job ready; 2) Develop a plan for the future and 3) Build the skills that employers' value most. This will be achieved through career exploration, skills development and work-based learning experiences that will put them on track to graduate from high school with a plan for the future.