Newark’s mayor, city officials and other dignitaries will kick off the 2019 Summer Youth Employment Program with a press conference and pep talk to the participants on Monday, July 8, at 10:15 a.m., in the Essex County College Gymnasium, located at 303 University Avenue.
Officials say city leaders built Newark’s summer youth employment program into a national model, through innovative public-private partnerships, tripling from 1,000 youth in 2014 to more than 3,100 participants this year.
The program has continually been highlighted nationally from President Obama’s White House to its membership in the national Cities for Financial Empowerment Summer Jobs Connect cohort.
Newark has played host to two national Cities for Financial Empowerment Conferences, and recently featured Mayor Baraka alongside the Mayors of Miami, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. in a new video on Summer Jobs Connect.
Officials say this is because the city leader’s vision for summer youth employment is broader than a paycheck.
Employers in the program come from a wide range, from the public, private, educational, and non-profit sectors.
They include the Boys & Girls Club, the City of Newark, Essex County, Glassroots, Ironbound Community Corporation, NJIT, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark Boys Chorus, Newark Municipal Court, Newark Symphony Hall, Newark Public Library, Newark Public Schools, Newark Teachers’ Union, Planet Fitness, Rutgers University-Newark, St. Benedict’s Academy, the Salvation Army, The Leaguers, United Airlines, Vonda’s Kitchen, and Walgreens, among others.