FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, January 28, 2016

FOR ASSIGNMENT Wednesday, February 3, 2016 

Brice Freeman 410-396-1910 bfreeman@oedworks.com

Ernest Dorsey 410-396-6722 edorsey@oedworks.com

Mayor to Thank Backers of 2015 Summer Jobs Program and 
Seek Support for YouthWorks 2016
GBC’s Don Fry, chair of private-sector Hire One Youth campaign, 
to encourage continued business support

WHAT:             

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Greater Baltimore Committee President and CEO Donald C. Fry will acknowledge many supporters who made YouthWorks 2015 a success and highlight the need for continued support of summer jobs in 2016.

WHEN:              

Wednesday, February 3, 2016; 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

WHERE:         

Columbus Center

701 E. Pratt Street

Baltimore, MD 21202

BACKGROUND:

Baltimore’s City’s YouthWorks program, operated by the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), connects teens and young adults between the ages of 14-21 with paid summer jobs where they gain valuable, real-world work experience in fields such as healthcare, hospitality/tourism, information technology, law, environmental science/green jobs, education, and more. They earn minimum wage and work 25 hours per week for five weekS.

Prior to May 1, 2015, MOED’s goals for the 2015 YouthWorks program were to run a five-week program (June 29-July 31), offer summer jobs to 5,000 youth, secure at least 450 worksites, and increase the number of private-sector employers engaged in YouthWorks’ Hire One Youth initiative. The unrest in Baltimore City in April 2015 – and the realization that YouthWorks helps address some of the issues behind it – sparked an increase in partnerships, funding and donations, and had a profound impact on the program and its outcomes including offering more than 8,000 youth (100 percent of those who registered) a summer job.

This unprecedented level of support presents a unique challenge as preparations are made for 2016. Because annual funding usually supports the creation of 5,000 jobs, building upon partnerships with funders, public-sector worksites, and private-sector employers is essential in order to repeat this success in 2016.

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About MOED: The Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Employment Development 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. In fiscal year 2015 MOED hosted more than 93,000 visits from city residents at our career center locations, connected more than 1,200 people with computer literacy training at our digital learning labs, and placed more than 9,200 individuals in jobs – including nearly 7,000 young people through the 2015 YouthWorks summer jobs program – and assisted more than 1,100 businesses through our Employ Baltimore – Ready to Work for You strategy. Please visit www.oedworks.com for more information.

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