PROVIDENCE– A standing ovation greeted 25 new graduates of Stepping Up, a program providing training, education and career coaching for low-income community residents and entry-level hospital workers, as they stood on the stage, certificates in hand, at a ceremony held Dec. 16 at Rhode Island Hospital’s George Auditorium.

Constance A. Howes, president and CEO of Women & Infants Hospital, pledged to help find work opportunities for the graduates and to support work force development. “We have an obligation to provide economic opportunity for people in the community,” she said, noting that it was a tough job market, with Women & Infants having a net loss of 100 jobs in 2010.

“Health care is our economic future in Rhode Island,” said Neil Steinberg, president and CEO of The Rhode Island Foundation, praising the program’s collaborative nature. He also announced an additional $60,000 grant to expand the Stepping Up program statewide.

“You are an inspiration to me,” Providence Mayor-elect Angel Tavares told the graduates, invoking the memory of his childhood in South Providence, having once played on the nearby lots, and of his mother, who worked seven days a week to support her family. “Your kindness [in caring for patients] will make a huge difference.”

The Stepping Up graduates attended classes at Dorcas Place, Genesis Center and Rhode Island Hospital, and completed 100-hour unpaid hospital internships. Eight of the graduates have found jobs already, and another four were being interviewed, according to Darcy Holoweski, a career adviser at Stepping Up.

But the day’s event belonged to the graduates, as four – Clara Ricks, Kina Gonsalves-Wallace, Catherine Nova and Sandra Marte – told their stories, with emotion and humor.

“I moved to the United States from Liberia in January 2010,” said Ricks. “I had no job, no resources and lived in someone else’s apartment. Now, I have a job as a Patient Care Attendant at Rhode Island Hospital. I have my own apartment, and I am taking courses to be able to enter a CNA program.”

To date, the Stepping Up program has worked with 128 community residents; 87 subsequently obtained jobs. In addition, the program has provided classes for 179 entry-level hospital workers looking to further their careers.