The Principal Charity Classic, with support from Sammons Financial Group, is working with the Greater Des Moines Partnership to evolve the Legacy Project into a work-based learning program to help prepare youths for future employment, Principal announced Friday. The Legacy Project first launched in 2020 with funding from Sammons Financial Group. In its inaugural year, $50,000 was donated to the Directors Council, a Des Moines-based nonprofit developing social service programs focused on addressing racial disparities and inequities in the areas of employment, education, financial inclusion, health and housing. Proceeds from the Principal Charity Classic will fund programming that introduces youths to professional and technical skills. Students who are at risk of not graduating or easily securing work will be a focus of the program, the news release said. The Greater Des Moines Partnership will administer the program, designing a curriculum and implementing it in existing summer youth internship programs throughout Iowa, starting in 2024. Funding will also sponsor weekly learning, networking and skill-building sessions with the summer interns. “The Legacy Project supports the Principal Charity Classic’s mission of improving the lives of Iowa’s youth and will equip underrepresented or underprivileged students with skills needed to meet challenges now and in the future,” Ken McCullum, board chair for the Principal Charity Classic, said in a prepared statement.