More than 100 formerly homeless and incarcerated men are graduating from The Doe Fund’s Ready, Willing & Able program Thursday, March 22, at Manhattan’s Church of St. Ignatius Loyola.
The traditional cap-and-gown ceremony marks the graduates’ completion. Ready, Willing & Able is a yearlong program that provides paid work, job training, education and social services. The valedictorian for the class is Craig Twiggs, who joined and excelled in the Ready, Willing & Able program after 27 years in prison. He will address his fellow graduates at the ceremony.
Each graduate will walk across the stage in his cap and gown to receive a certificate after a cap toss ending the formal ceremony. Graduates and their families will enjoy refreshments prepared by students and graduates of The Doe Fund’s Culinary Arts program.
The Doe Fund was founded in 1985 by homeless advocate George T. McDonald. The program provides services, supportive and transitional housing and economic opportunity for formerly incarcerated and homeless men.
