Non-Profit Training Program Has A Double Celebration

CAMDEN, NJ (CBS) -- Friday was graduation day for eight students of a non-profit auto repair training program in North Camden. And it was also opening day for a new auto repair business that will help graduates and the neighborhood

More than 200 people have come through Respond, Incorporated's 22 week program since its inception.

Many are employed at repair shops throughout the region.

"It will provide an income which is above minimum wage," Wilbert Mitchell, Respond's Executive Director, told KYW Newsradio. "It provides a living wage for our trainees."

Subaru is a major player in this collaboration, making grants and jobs available for people like Steven Singleton. He's now in Subaru's internship program. Without it, he says "I would probably be in somebody's kitchen washing some dishes. That's where I was working before I started school here."

The new auto repair shop, adjacent to the training center, will allow neighbors to get their cars fixed and recycle those repair fees back into the program.