Roto-Rooter of Savannah Supports Xcel Strategies Mentoring Program
Friday, November 13th, 2020
Roto-Rooter of Savannah continues to invest in local efforts to improve our community. Sherry Daniel, owner and CEO, presented a check for $5,000 to Xcel Strategies founder Jay Thompson to partially fund a new initiative for the nonprofit: a mobile HVAC, electrical and plumbing trailer. Xcel is a mentoring network founded in Savannah in 2012 to help young men between the ages of 15 and 25 develop life and career skills.
“Xcel Strategies is just the kind of organization we love to support,” Daniel said. “Encouraging young people to examine career options in the skilled trade sector, which can provide a challenging and rewarding career, is one of our missions at Roto-Rooter. When we heard that Xcel Strategies was looking to launch a plumbing trailer for their boys, we knew we had to support it.”
The Xcel Strategies mission is “to fuel young men with purpose,” specifically young men at risk, by providing a network of well-trained mentors. Xcel offers training in life skills; career advising from partners in business, schools and churches; and job placement via apprenticeships, internships and full-time employment.
In 2020, Xcel has focused on trade jobs, which pay well and are in high demand. “A passage in a book by Booker T. Washington inspired me to take the trades mobile,” Thompson said, “bringing the message directly to the neighborhoods.” Trailers with work stations to demonstrate real-world tasks and duties in construction and automobile repair have already launched this year. Roto-Rooter Plumbers of Savannah is one of five donors to the upcoming HVAC, electrical and plumbing trailer. Workshop classes with Roto-Rooter master plumbers and hands-on teaching are part of the plan and an additional commitment to Xcel’s mission.
“Roto-Rooter is an essential partner in training young people in the plumbing trade and transitioning them into the profession,” Thompson added. The new HVAC, electrical and plumbing trailer is scheduled to deploy by the end of the year.