City Seeks Nonprofits to Serve as 2013 YouthWorks Worksites
Monday Feb 11th, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 11, 2013
CONTACTS: Brice Freeman, MOED, 410-396-1910, bfreeman@oedworks.com Kate Schmelyun, MOED, 410-396-6722, kschmelyun@oedworks.com
City Seeks Nonprofits to Serve as 2013 YouthWorks Worksites Organizations Provide Supervision and Mentoring to Workers Age 14-21 in Six-Week, 25-Hour-Per-Week Positions Funded by YouthWorks Baltimore, Maryland (February 11, 2013) – YouthWorks, Baltimore City’s summer jobs program, is seeking nonprofit organizations and community groups to serve as worksites in 2013. Eligible worksites are not responsible for paying YouthWorks participants who work at their locations, but they must provide close supervision and mentoring, and ensure that workers are fully engaged throughout the program. Youth are scheduled to work five hours each day (excluding lunch), five days a week, for a total of 25 hours per week for six weeks, beginning Monday, June 24 and running through Friday, August 2. An organization can apply to become a YouthWorks 2013 worksite through Friday, March 15, 2013, by visiting http://youthworks.oedworks.com and using a current, active email address to create an account. All worksite eligibility requirements are outlined on the site. Each year, YouthWorks connects approximately 5,000 young people between the ages of 14 and 21 to six-week summer work experiences with private sector, nonprofit, and city and state government employers throughout Baltimore. Participants work in a variety of industries, gaining basic workforce readiness and career-specific skills. Many YouthWorks worksites are in high-growth industries, such as hospitality and tourism, health care and information technology. Most of these assignments are offered to older youth who are matched to jobs that reflect their career interests. Approximately half of the YouthWorks participants are 14 or 15 years old, most of whom are employed for the first time. Many are gaining business and office skills, while others are helping keep Baltimore's parks, playgrounds and open spaces clean. They are beautifying city neighborhoods by participating in community recycling activities and graffiti removal, and supporting the operations of community libraries, recreation centers, summer camps and senior centers. YouthWorks is operated by the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development with the assistance of employers and workforce partners, and with financial support from a variety of contributors. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake also recently reintroduced the YouthWorks Hire One Youth campaign to challenge local private employers to join the city in creating valuable summer employment opportunities for Baltimore’s teens by hiring at least one young person through YouthWorks. ### In fiscal year 2012, the Mayor's Office of Employment Development hosted more than 145,000 visits from city residents at our one-stop career centers, provided computer literacy to more than 2,500 people at our Digital Learning Labs, and placed nearly 2,500 individuals in jobs. We connected more than 5,300 young people to summer employment and assisted more than 450 businesses through our Employ Baltimore strategy. MOED is committed to building a strong workforce for our city by developing meaningful partnerships with the local business community and connecting Baltimore citizens of all ages and backgrounds with jobs and pathways to careers. www.oedworks.com.