Courtesy LAYC.

Thanks to a private business, not Congress (naturally), the Latin American Youth Center has been able to bring back furloughed staff and reinstate programs they had to cut because of the federal government shutdown.

Capital One Bank donated $250,000 to the Columbia Heights-based nonprofit to restore their regular programming, which includes educational, art and workforce investment programs, through the end of the month. “The LAYC staff is back at work, over 500 youth and family members will be walking through our many doors today and the entire community has the services and supports that they rely on,” president and CEO Lori Kaplan said in a release.

As DCist previously reported, LAYC furloughed much of its staff, including all senior leaders, last week, asking them to serve as volunteers. “The reckless battle going on in Congress is impacting our services,” Kaplan said at the time.

“It has been an eye-opening experience for us to see how deeply the impact of the government shutdown is being felt by local non-profits and the clients their programs serve. The Latin American Youth Center, and organizations like it, whose programs are federally funded, have been stretched to their limits,” Jon Witter, president of retail and direct banking at Capital One, said in a release. “As Washington, D.C.’s hometown bank, we know firsthand the critical role the LAYC youth center plays in the local community. Knowing how important it is to ensure continuity of supportive programs like homeless services and supports, afterschool programs, and workforce development training for at-risk youth and their families, we felt it was vital to help LAYC continue to serve the region through this difficult time.”