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GREENSBORO -- A non-profit group in the Triad working to put people back to work is celebrating a milestone and a new partnership. Wednesday night, Greensboro's "Reach Out First" officially took the name of the "StepUp Ministry." It's 1 year old this month and now joins forces with a Raleigh chapter first established back in the 1980's.

Sheron Sumner, the executive director of the Greensboro group, said it modeled its back to work program after the Raleigh organization.

"We train 700 people through 22 week-long job classes," said Steve Swayne with StepUp in Raleigh. "Of those 700, we pass 500 and place 400 in jobs."

The Greensboro group has trained about 260 people over the last year with resume building and employment skills and more than 50 percent are now taking home a paycheck.

Rosalind Landry collected unemployment checks for four years before finding the program.

"After you've been unemployed for long periods of time, it becomes your identity who you are and your self-worth," she said.

She said the training not only helped her land a job, but she said it worked on her from the inside out. "They begin to build me, my confidence and cheering me on and giving me that hope and that zeal," said Landry.

She's now getting help from the program's Life Skills step, which is a 12-month curriculum addressing personal development and financial planning. In November, Landry will celebrate one year of work as an accounting associate for Habitat for Humanity and she said she's simply taking it one day at a time.

"Well now I can take my son to dinner if he wants, or buy him some shoes," said Landry.

StepUp Ministry's next Greensboro job training program starts Oct. 1. For details click on story links.