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Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program Remains A Priority Mayor Scott W. Lang, in partnership with the Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc. (WIB) and New Directions Southcoast, Inc., is planning to kick-off a summer jobs campaign for New Bedford youth ages 14 and up. This effort will reach out to local business owners and the community as a whole in order to solicit both financial contributions and job pledges for the Summer of 2008. These jobs and donations will be used to put the City’s youth to work and thereby have an impact on the city and community as a whole. Last summer, this program was a great success and it is hoped that this upcoming summer will demonstrate even more success. The Summer Jobs program is comprised of two parts, the first part being entitled the “Mayor’s Summer Youth Program”, designed to serve 14-15 year old youth and the other entitled “New Bedford Works: Summer Jobs for Youth” is designed to serve youth ages 16 and up. The “Mayor’s Summer Youth Program” is intended to give younger New Bedford Youth an opportunity to take part in a 6-week stipend program that places them on a worksite for a portion of the week, and in a project based learning environment for the remainder of the week. These youth are then paid a stipend for their successful completion of the full 6-week program. The “New Bedford Works: Summer Jobs for Youth” program is designed to either place youth in a job at a local business who has agreed to hire a youth for the summer or place a youth in local community based organization and subsidize the organization in order to pay the youth. These youth will earn minimum wage during their summer work experience. This program has many benefits that are realized by the youth that are involved with the program, local business owners, and the community at large. The youth participating in the program benefit from the opportunity to earn money for themselves during the summer, the development a strong work ethic, and the continued learning experience during the summer months. Local business owners and community-based organizations realize the benefit of the program based on having an energetic and eager youth work for them during the summer. Lastly, the city and community as a whole gain the benefit of keeping youth off the streets during the summer and engaging them in meaningful employment experiences. "I think we can all remember our first jobs and how they taught us the value of an honest day's work," said Mayor Scott W. Lang. "I look forward to continuing to work with area employers to give New Bedford youth that same experience this summer." Ed Dennehy, President/CEO of New Directions Southcoast, Inc. said that, “Today’s youth are tomorrow’s workforce. A summer job provides a young person a unique opportunity to develop a strong work ethic and learn new skills that will shape their future in a positive way. Employers that provide these work opportunities are investing in their own business future as well as that of the community.” The effort to make this program possible includes the solicitation of financial contributions from the entire community and also job pledges from local businesses. If you are interested in making either a donation or pledging a job, please contact the WIB’s Youth Council Director, Adam Chapdelaine, at 508-979-1511. This campaign will run from now until June, so be sure to look for updates and continued requests of support in upcoming issues of the WIB eNewsletter. 227 Union Street, Suite 206, New Bedford, MA 02740-5946 PH 508.979.1504 • FAX 508.979.5680 E-mail: Webmaster@gnbwib.org |