From apprenticeship to job placement, Hilti North America charts bold new pathway of access and opportunities for Storehouse neighbors on their journeys to transformation
The Storehouse Community Center is celebrating one of its newest job partnerships and the impact the global leader is having on its neighbors – those served by The Storehouse. Hilti North America, an industry leader in the design and manufacture of cutting-edge technologies, software, and services for the professional construction industry, became a job partner this year, initially welcoming four Storehouse neighbors into its apprenticeship program. Of the ten neighbors who have been hired into the apprenticeship program, three have already advanced into full-time employment in Hilti’s distribution center.
“A perfect and powerful match, this partnership has surpassed all expectations,” said Candace Winslow, CEO, The Storehouse Community Center. “The Storehouse and Hilti not only share the same values but also the same belief that sustainable employment can be life-changing for underserved individuals. I knew in my first conversations with Dulari Mehta, Hilti’s Manager of Social Impact, Education and Workforce, that this partnership would play a significant role in the long-term transformation of many of our neighbors. We are so grateful to Dulari, who has a deep understanding of our vision, as well as everyone on Hilti’s hard-working and caring team for the impact they are making in the lives of so many within The Storehouse and beyond.”
From standing in the food pantry line to becoming the first Storehouse apprentice at Hilti offered full-time employment, Gustavo Urdaneta, 20, knows firsthand the value of this partnership. Urdaneta and his family (parents and sister) came to North Texas from Venezuela in 2021 to live with his uncle who took them to The Storehouse for assistance. They lived with him for three months and then moved to their own apartment.
Grateful for what they had received, the family wanted to give back and help others in the community. His sister, Maria Laura, self-taught in English with a strong mastery of the language, began volunteering as a teacher at The Storehouse in The Academy English as a Second Language (ESL) program when it launched in 2022. Today she has logged more than 194 volunteer hours and was one of the first neighbors employed by The Storehouse’s first job partner, Lux Ice.
“My sister, who helped me to learn English, encouraged me to volunteer with her at The Academy,” said Urdaneta. “She shared how wonderful it felt to know you were helping your community, so I decided to join her.”
Urdaneta has now logged 108 hours as a volunteer in ESL classes since August 2023, and while at The Academy, he also learned more about the job skills programs. His first job upon arrival in the U.S. was operating lathe machinery and after that he was working in aluminum painting. At The Storehouse, he enrolled in classes at The Academy and Collin College through its partnership with The Storehouse, and he completed the automotive service and repair course. He is currently working on completing his GED with dreams of going to college – a dream that Hilti will play a role in making come true.
“Ligia Urrego, The Academy director, has been such an important part of my journey providing me with guidance as I tried to figure out what I wanted to do,” added Urdaneta. “She encouraged me to apply for the Hilti Apprenticeship Program.”
Urdaneta began the 24-week apprenticeship program and received a job offer for a full-time position at Hilti after only 12 weeks in the program.
“I was super excited and could not believe it,” added Urdaneta. “I called Ligia to tell her before I even called my family. I wanted to thank her because I couldn’t be there without her help. Hilti is incredible, and I have met so many good people – people who help me. We are family.”
“Things beyond our wildest dreams are possible when we collaborate on a level where values deeply align,” said Dulari Mehta, Hilti manager, Social Impact, Education and Workforce. “The Storehouse has been the right partner to help build out our apprentice program by embracing a growth mindset, transparency and a commitment to continuously improving together. Candace Winslow and her team have set the standard for how business and nonprofits can intersect to drive systemic change. We aim to have a sustainable employment model that will provide opportunity for real economic mobility and access to a stable career path for participants while closing labor gaps in our industry. Our call to action is for all businesses to find innovative ways to partner more deeply alongside nonprofits. Let’s move philanthropy from transactional to transformational.”
Hilti’s Apprenticeship Program was created by intersecting a need in the community with introducing under-accessed individuals to construction and providing on-the-job training. Apprentices support Hilti’s circular economy model by taking tools returned at the end of a customer's Tool Fleet Management agreement and refurbishing them for shipment to nonprofits and schools across the U.S. and Canada. Apprentices have supported Hilti in donating $1.2 million worth of tools back into communities in 2024 alone in support of 101 different nonprofits.
Hilti’s mission with these programs is to not only be an example with a sustainable model regarding environmental issues, but also to build a pipeline of talent sourced from a nontraditional population, thereby lessening the labor gap in the construction industry and bringing diversity to its workforce.
The Storehouse Community Center has seen extraordinary growth and change throughout all its programs. The Academy ESL program has grown from an enrollment of 40 neighbors in the 2022 summer pilot to an enrollment of 201 neighbors this fall semester. Additionally, The Storehouse is now serving more than 182,000 unduplicated individuals annually as opposed to 149,000 the year prior. According to Jeff Morton, COO, this growth is driven by the rising cost of food.
“We are seeing more new neighbors visiting our pantry for services. The food we provide supplements the nutritional needs of the families in our community who are facing price increases at the grocery store,” added Morton. “Our food pantry team has worked hard to introduce a new appointment-based distribution model which launched in January 2024. The changes have helped significantly reduce wait times for our neighbors visiting our pantry while allowing us to serve more families.”
“At The Storehouse, our vision – part of our five-year plan developed in 2020 following the pandemic – is to transform the lives of two out of every 10 neighbors who first meet us in the pantry, and we are seeing this come to fruition with such stellar job partnerships,” added Winslow. “Together, we are transforming neighbors’ lives by providing self-sustaining opportunities, so they no longer have to stand in the food pantry line.”
Since the launch of The Storehouse job partnership program in 2023, 54 neighbors have received offers from job partners, including Lux Ice, The Storehouse’s first job partner, Hilti, and Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM).
“If anyone asks me about The Storehouse, I’m speechless,” continued Urdaneta. “I see The Storehouse as much more than a simple place. For me it is a second home. I am so grateful to both The Storehouse and Hilti for how they have changed my life.”
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The Storehouse Community Center (formerly The Storehouse of Collin County) is a nonprofit founded in 2009 that provides short-term help and long-term transformation to residents in North Texas through a pathway of programs. Seven Loaves Food Pantry serves approximately 4,500 families each month; Joseph’s Coat Clothing Closet provides clothing at no cost; Project Hope Neighbor Care offers case management and resource referral; and The Academy Education Program provides free and reduced-cost classes to assist with language, job, and life skills development as well as job partnership opportunities, connecting neighbors to stable, high-quality employment. During its previous fiscal year, The Storehouse served over 182,000 unduplicated neighbors with the support of more than 2,000 volunteers. In August 2023, the North Texas Food Bank honored The Storehouse with the Hope for Tomorrow Award, and in September 2023, The Storehouse was named a Dallas Morning News Charity. Visit www.thestorehousecc.org. The Storehouse EIN: 27-1883333
The Hilti Group supplies the worldwide construction industry with leading products, services and software that provide construction professionals with innovative solutions and superior added value which help them work productively, safely and sustainably. Hilti employs about 34,000 people in more than 120 countries who work to make construction better. Hilti’s North America region includes more than 4,500 employees who work across the United States and Canada. Hilti North America is headquartered in Plano, Texas, and has more than 100 locations across the region.