FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, October 10, 2013 FOR

ASSIGNMENT: Tuesday, October 15, 2013

CONTACT: Brice Freeman, MOED Communications, 410-396-1910, bfreeman@oedworks.com

Ernest Dorsey, MOED Youth Services, 410-396-6722, edorsey@oedworks.com

Mayor Rawlings-Blake to Acknowledge Business Support of YouthWorks Summer Jobs through Hire One Youth Initiative Mayor and Leadership Team Chair Don Fry to speak to growth and success of Hire One Youth’s Second Year

Baltimore, Maryland (October 10, 2013) – Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Greater Baltimore Committee President and CEO Donald C. Fry will thank more than 100 local businesses at a luncheon next week for hiring at least one YouthWorks summer jobs participant through the Hire One Youth (H1Y) initiative. More than 500 young people were hired directly by a variety of H1Y organizations in 2013, which helped YouthWorks offer summer employment to more than 5,200 city teens. WHO: Hire One Youth businesses and selected Hire One Youth participants will attend. Mayor Rawlings-Blake, Hire One Youth Leadership Team Chair Don Fry, and Mayor’s Office of Employment Development Director Karen Sitnick will be among the speakers. WHEN: Tuesday, October 15, 2013 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. WHERE: Rawlings-Fulton Clubhouse at Forest Park Golf Course, 2900 Hillsdale Road Baltimore, MD 21207 BACKGROUND: YouthWorks is Baltimore City’s summer jobs program, which places young people between the ages of 14 and 21 in six-week summer jobs with private sector, nonprofit and city and state government employers throughout the city. To widen the positive impact of YouthWorks and create more summer job opportunities with local employers, Mayor RawlingsBlake created the Hire One Youth initiative in 2012 and formed a leadership team comprised of members from the employer community to champion the effort. Hire One Youth continued in 2013 to expand business involvement in hiring older youth and young adults (16-21) during the summer and beyond. 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. ### In fiscal year 2013, the Mayor's Office of Employment Development hosted more than 119,000 visits from city residents at our one-stop career centers, provided computer literacy and occupational skills training to more than 1600 people, and placed nearly 2,500 individuals in jobs. We offered summer employment to more than 5,200 young people through YouthWorks and assisted more than 425 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.