YO! Baltimore Celebrates GED Achievers

Baltimore, MD – On Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at 6:00 p.m., Baltimore’s Youth Opportunity Movement (YO!) will honor its 70 members who have earned their GEDs while in the program and will recognize seven youth for completing yearlong, youth practitioner apprenticeship training in human services. The ceremony will take place at Shriver Hall on the Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus and will feature remarks from Maryland State Senator Lisa Gladden and Karen Sitnick, director of the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development.

“We are very proud of these young people,” said Sitnick. “Many of them had given up on school and were discovering that without more education their options were severely limited. By making the commitment and doing the work to earn a GED or high school diploma they have now doubled their lifetime earning potential and opened the door to achieving their highest dreams.”

An initiative of the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board Youth Council, Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, and multiple workforce partners, YO! Baltimore increases the long-term employability of Empowerment Zone youth and young adults by offering a broad array of education, work readiness and personal development resources and activities. Since YO! Baltimore began more than 3,200 Empowerment Zone residents, ages 16 to 21, have become YO! members.

YO! Baltimore’s achievements during its first three years include:

· 278 youth earning their high school diplomas
· 225 members enrolled in college, and one member earning an Associate of Arts degree
· 1,050 members (or one-third of those enrolled) being placed in jobs, college or long-term career-training programs

For additional information about YO! Baltimore and its center locations, call 410-396-6722.