Mission Statement
Manchester Bidwell Corporation is a non-profit organization comprised of the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild (MCG) and the Bidwell Training Center (BTC).
The mission of MCG: To create environments of hope, professionalism, opportunity and excellence, to enable people to better realize a better quality of life for themselves and their community.
The mission of BTC: To make educational opportunities available to all people without reference to race, religion, ancestry or national origin and instill a sense of pride and accomplishment in the student.
Description
Manchester Craftsmen's Guild
For more than 30 years Manchester Craftsmen's Guild has been a unique haven--a multi-disciplined arts and learning center that fosters a sense of belonging, interconnections, and hope within the urban community.
Manchester Craftsmen's Guild is located on Pittsburgh's North Shore in a state-of-the-art facility housing visual arts, design, ceramics and photography classrooms, a dining hall, auditorium/concert hall, and gallery all designed to showcase the roles of creativity and craftsmanship in learning. Handmade objects, furniture, photographs, and paintings that adorn public and private spaces create a model environment for education, exhibitions, performances, and social and professional gatherings.
Manchester Craftsmen's Guild includes the nationally recognized MCG Youth program--dedicated to educating and inspiring Pittsburgh's urban youth through the arts. Through public art exhibitions, MCG connects diverse, accomplished visual artists to Pittsburgh and its communities. Through Grammy-producing MCG Jazz, a social enterprise dedicated to preserving, presenting and promoting jazz music, MCG stimulates intercultural understanding and appreciation in the region and throughout the world.
Bidwell Training Center
Since 1972, Bidwell has attracted national recognition for its innovative and career-oriented training that changes the lives of people in transition in southwestern Pennsylvania. Bidwell provides literacy and remedial education and partners with leading corporations to design high-caliber, market-relevant career training programs that lead to entry-level employment. Several of these programs require externships with area companies. This enables students to combine skills learned in the classroom with on-the-job experience and provides an opportunity to begin the transition from school to employment.
Bidwell attracts a diverse group of adults from all racial, ethnic, economic, educational, and employment backgrounds reflective of the population in the region. Those who enroll, however, share one common goal: the desire for a satisfying and rewarding career that will improve their lives and enable them to provide a better future for their families.
Bidwell Training Center enrolls people who are as diverse as those found at any workplace. Some are preparing for their first job. Others are learning job skills that will enable them to pursue a new career, or advance in their current job. Whatever their backgrounds, Bidwell students share one common goal: the desire for more satisfying and rewarding careers.
