Our History
The Challenge Program, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, started in 1995 when Andrew McKnight was recruited from the Seaport Museum in Philadelphia to revive a Delaware-based boat building program. The aim: to help youth facing serious barriers to employment. The essence of the initiative was to find a way to connect with youth while providing the support and training needed to prepare them for the workplace.
After a time, boatbuilding gave way to timber-framing and rehabbing vacant housing. In 1998, we began providing paid work experience for trainees and launched our construction business; our first project was the prison barracks at Pea Patch Island. In 2001, we received our first Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) contract with the Delaware Department of Labor (DOL), and the construction training program in its present form started to take shape. DOL increased funding in 2006, permitting the hiring of a Case Manager, a vital addition. To date, we have served over 550 young adults, ages 18 to 24.
Our Program
In addition to paid vocational training in construction and woodworking, we provide intensive case management and supportive services, including assistance with the judicial system, transportation, housing, and other basic needs and employment barriers. Our trainees receive basic education/GED prep/testing, job readiness training (resumes/interviewing), credentialling (Flagger, Forklift, OSHA 10), and job placement assistance. Each year, we enroll up to 20 new trainees and provide supportive services to 80-100 alumni, and 75%+ of our alumni are placed in jobs, continued education, or military service.
The Challenge Program is also a fully functioning construction company. Our trainee crews work on community projects and have rehabbed 20+ affordable housing units in low-income neighborhoods.
The effort continues at CP Furniture, which we opened in 2015 with a dual aim: to provide jobs and enhanced training opportunities to program graduates, and to support the program financially. CP Furniture is a social enterprise that makes handcrafted furniture for restaurant, office, retail, and residential clients. All proceeds from CP Furniture sales are reinvested in the program. In 2023, we started a Registered Pre-Apprenticeship program for Challenge Program alumni who want to develop their skills further. The program offers 12 weeks of formal instruction supplemented by an optional 9 months of additional paid work experience.