Mayor Dixon Announces Summer Jobs Campaign Progress at YouthWorks Kickoff Event at Morgan State University
Mayor’s “Summer Jobs are Everyone’s Business” theme resonates with all sectors of Baltimore City’s communities; Colgate-Palmolive to give donation

What: YouthWorks Kickoff Press Conference 

When: Monday, June 9, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. 

Where: Morgan State University
             New Student Center Theatre
             1700 E. Coldspring Lane
             Baltimore

Background: 
During Mayor Sheila Dixon’s inaugural address in December of last year, she identified the YouthWorks summer jobs program as one of her administration’s top initiatives and set a goal to increase the number of participating youth to 6,500 in 2008. YouthWorks provides six-week employment opportunities for Baltimore City youth, ages 14 to 21. Federal funding that once provided stand-alone funds for summer jobs no longer exists, causing a greater effort from local government, business, and the community to support YouthWorks by making financial contributions and/or directly hiring youth and paying their wages.

The YouthWorks 2008 theme, Summer Jobs are Everyone’s Business, captures the Mayor’s outreach strategy to assemble her YouthWorks Leadership Team and engage these leaders from business, education, community-based organizations, faith-based institutions, philanthropic organizations, and city agencies to rally around this important cause and aggressively support the campaign.

The YouthWorks Kickoff press conference will feature Mayor Dixon thanking those who have supported the YouthWorks campaign and announcing the progress made thus far toward reaching the goal of 6,500 Baltimore City teens working this summer. Legg Mason, Comcast, and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation are among those organizations that have contributed the largest amounts.

Dr. Cecil Payton, executive assistant to the president of Morgan State University, will provide welcoming remarks. Other community and business representatives will also speak briefly.

Among those speakers will be Wanda Austin-Wingood, Colgate-Palmolive’s brand manager, who will present a check in the amount of $30,000 that covers sponsoring 30 YouthWorks participants this summer in Colgate-Palmolive’s EMPOWER youth entrepreneurial program – an entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and leadership initiative to be conducted by E.Y.E. for Change, paying wages for eight YouthWorks participants, and providing health and beauty products for thousands of YouthWorks participants.

It costs $1250 to support a youth in a six-week work experience. There is still time to show support for YouthWorks by making tax-deductible donations to:

            Baltimore City Foundation/YouthWorks
            c/o Mayor’s Office of Employment Development
            101 W. 24th Street
            Baltimore, MD 21218

For more information about YouthWorks, call 410-396-6722.