Eugene company announces gift, to be used to house teen boys.

CBT Nuggets, a Eugene-based online IT education company, on Monday will announce a $2-million donation to the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County (SVDP) for the development of a facility that will provide up to two years of free housing and casework to homeless teen boys with the aim of helping them graduate from high school and preparing them for next stages of adult life. The announcement will be made at 11 a.m. at the Eugene-based company’s headquarters at 1550 Valley River Drive.

The new youth house will be the second such project undertaken by SVDP. A transitional housing project, which will serve homeless teen girls and is located in the former Cascade Presbyterian Church at 3350 Willamette St. in south Eugene, is nearing completion and is scheduled to open in early January.

A statement issued Monday by CBT Nuggets co-founders Dan and Johnna Charbonneau said: “CBT Nuggets is proud to support St Vincent de Paul by providing funds to build a home for homeless children attending our area schools. The CBT Nuggets Youth Home will be the second Saint Vincent de Paul Youth Home built to serve high school students in Eugene who have no place to call home. It will be a refuge, and a springboard, a place of calm where these kids can safely live, where they can do the simple things that others take for granted — share a meal, play board games, do homework and have a place of one’s own where needs are met, and futures are bright.

“These children are our children,” the Charbonneaus added. “They deserve the same opportunities given to those who are fortunate enough to have a safe and caring home. We hope to lead by example and inspire other companies to collaborate to work toward solving our community’s shared challenge of homelessness.”

‘We hope to lead by example and inspire other companies to collaborate to work toward solving our community’s shared challenge of homelessness.’

— Dan and Johanna Charbonneau

Terry McDonald, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul, said he deeply appreciates CBT Nuggets’ gift, which is by far the largest single donation ever received by SVDP since it was founded more than six decades ago. “This is an extraordinary donation by a company that is dedicated to helping this community’s homeless youth and that is willing to commit the resources needed to make a real and lasting difference in their lives,” he said.

McDonald said CBT Nuggets’ gift will enable his agency to start working on the second youth house project as soon as it completes fundraising for the first youth house on Willamette Street. A location for the new youth house has yet to be determined. So far SVDP has raised $1.65 million of the $1.85 million it needs to complete its first Youth House project. “Donors who help us close the remaining $200,000 funding gap will have the added satisfaction of knowing they also are making it possible for us to begin work on the CBT Nuggets Youth House,” McDonald said.

CBT Nuggets also will announce Monday that St. Vincent de Paul has been accepted as one of four nonprofit participants in the company’s global philanthropy program, NuggetLove. Led by Shelly Galvin, the company’s director of philanthropy and sustainability, NuggetLove will provide fundraising and business development support for SVDP’s broad spectrum of programs, which include affordable housing, self-sufficiency services and veterans’ programs; homeless and emergency programs, and recycling and manufacturing operations. “We appreciate St. Vincent de Paul’s innovative social enterprise approach to fund inclusive and supportive programs that contribute positively to our community by providing help to those who need it most in a way that is dignified and human-centered,” Galvin said.

CBT Nuggets, which was founded in 1999, produces and sells online education for information technology professionals worldwide. Galvin said the company’s mission is to continually improve the learning experience for IT professionals. “We believe in empowerment, personal responsibility, and self-reliance,” she said, adding that the company’s gift to SVDP reflects that mission “by providing opportunities for these youth to maximize their potential.” Galvin added the company plans to donate access to the company’s online learning programs to youth house residents.