BSP serves members of the community who are often overlooked or forgotten: janitors, security officers and other low-wage workers who work in the isolation of night shifts. Since many are immigrants with limited English speaking skills and low-literacy, it is often difficult for them to fully integrate into their communities. It is even more challenging for them to move out of low-wage service jobs and to improve their living conditions. BSP's fundamental premise is to help these workers and their families, primarily immigrants from Latin America, integrate into the community and improve their skills and economic prospects. Though fewer than 30% of BSP participants have been formally educated beyond 6th grade level in their native countries, BSP courses consistently achieve 80% student attendance rates. This is evidence that when low-wage workers are provided with an opportunity to acquire new skills for advancement, workers eagerly embrace it and succeed. In a recent case study that documents the effectiveness of BSP's flagship training (Vocational ESL) amongst janitors, assessment results demonstrate that 100% of janitors whom received instruction at their workplace (Yahoo Corporate Office) improved at least one VESL proficiency level, as measured by adult school assessments. 57% of participants improved at least two proficiency levels and 29% improved at least three proficiency levels.

Incorporated in 2007, BSP is a statewide non-profit collaboration between Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW), over 80 janitorial employers, over 45 building owners, and the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Los Angeles (BOMA-GLA). Headquartered in Los Angeles, BSP represents a partnership whose mission is to improve the quality of life of low-wage property service workers [janitors] and their families by increasing their skills, access to education, and opportunities for career and community advancement. Although each sector comes into this partnership with distinctive and often conflicting perspectives, these partners have come to agree that investing in the skills of immigrant workers is an all-around win-win initiative.

In addition to Vocational ESL, BSP provides Computer Literacy, Citizenship, Vocational Training, Parent Education, Health and Wellness, Literacy and other essential programs that address integration and quality of life. Annually the BSP provides training to over 1,500 participants in its various programs.

VISTA members have been instrumental to the sustainability and growth of BSP. Since 2008, VISTA members have been successful in securing over $29,735 in cash contributions. These contributions have been a direct result of the leadership of VISTA members in soliciting donations. In addition, VISTA members have been part of the collaborative team involved in securing foundation grants. In total, more than $ 1,138,299 has been secured through foundation grants. In addition, VISTA members have secured more than $31,368 in non-cash contributions and have fostered key relationships with important community agencies to leverage additional resources.

Furthermore, as a result of VISTA member’s involvement and professional relationship with Microsoft’s Corporate Headquarters, Microsoft’s Corporate Citizenship Initiative and MicroDocumentaries have provided non-cash support to promote BSP’s story of impact on the lives of low-wage immigrant workers. VISTA members have also assisted in developing relationships with other leading technology companies through their Dollar for Doers programs. Many of these corporations offer Dollar for Doers, a cash matching system for corporate volunteering. In 2011, BSP participated in Goggle and Microsoft’s Dollar for Doers programs and thus gets $10.00 and $17.00 dollars, respectively, for each hour of volunteer time provided by their employees. Recently, BSP began with the application process for the above type of funding at Cisco, where corporate employees volunteer as teacher aides in each of the five classes currently being held at it headquarters. BSP is currently waiting for its application to be approved.

With the assistance of VISTA members, BSP has been successful in developing and strengthening its volunteer program in San Jose, Oakland and Los Angeles. In 2011, Orange County began its volunteer program with the direct assistance of a VISTA member. 598 tutors have participated in providing direct services since 2008. These volunteers have dedicated their time, talents, and energy to make a difference on the lives of janitors and of their families. The volunteer dollar value for their work is estimated at $132,229. The dollar value for volunteer per hour is equivalent to $23.42, as established by the Corporation for National and Community Service in its research brief: Volunteering in America Research Highlights 2010. Volunteers have become an important element in our ability to provide direct services to janitors at the workplace and in the community. Without the assistance and dedication volunteers, BSP would not be able to train over 1,500 workers in the various training programs it offers throughout the state.

BSP has understood the potential impact of volunteers and decided to formalize and expand its volunteer program with the assistance of VISTA members. The volunteer program has grown from an informal program to a formalized collaborative program with relationships with several leading organizations that include Microsoft, Google, Cisco, UCLA and Stanford University. Throughout this time, VISTA members have been charged with brainstorming ways of improving the volunteer program and develop systems to track volunteer participation. VISTA members have been instrumental in developing the HABLA volunteer program at Stanford University. HABLA is a program that provides university students the opportunity to volunteer one-on-one with an ESL student. The program allows for the university student to become exposed and engaged to a new culture and language, while allowing the ESL student to practice their new language skill one-on-one with a native English speaker. In addition, Google corporate employees have been recruited as teacher aide volunteers to provide valuable support to current classes held at Google. At BSP’s community site classes in San Jose, Oakland, and Los Angeles, volunteer instructors have served as volunteer to provide the much needed support in delivering ESL, computer literacy and literacy instruction.

VISTA members are also critical to providing training and education that provide pathways out of poverty for BSP participants, low wage immigrant workers. VISTA members have been instrumental in planning and coordinating elements of the Parent University program. Since 2008, VISTA has provided the Parent University curriculum to over 700 parents and over 300 school age children. During the summer of 2011, in collaboration with UCLA IDEA and UCLA Labor Center, BSP coordinated the 4th Annual Parent University. VISTA members have assisted BSP in its collaboration UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access (UCLA IDEA) and UCLA Labor Center to create and deliver the Parent University curriculum at the workplace and in the community. BSP understands the vast need amongst low-wage workers to receive training critical to creating pathways out of poverty. Parent engagement, children's educational success, and school-wide reform have continuously emerged as top priorities for parent workers when surveyed by UCLA Labor Center and UCLA IDEA. These three educational issues are more pressing to low-wage workers than immigration reform, fair housing, and health care reform. The goal of the Parent University model incorporates a unique relationship in which presentations and activities are held at the workplace and through school based programing. Workshops seek to 1) orient parents to K-12 public education and its inequalities and 2) develop a cadre of parents engaged in the success of their children.