University, Health System Pledge $250,000 to
YouthWorks
By Tracey A. Reeves Homewood
As students pack up their books and prepare to head
home for the summer, a new crop of young
people is preparing to blanket the grounds of Johns Hopkins
— not to study, but to work.
In its strongest show of support yet for the city of
Baltimore's YouthWorks Summer Jobs
Campaign, Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J.
Daniels and Johns Hopkins Health System
President Ronald R. Peterson this week will hand over to
the city a check for $250,000, enough to
employ 250 young people for six weeks this summer. Of the
250 youngsters, 150 will work in the
health system and 100 for the university. Each will earn
minimum wage, which over the six-week period
beginning on June 22 will amount to about $1,250.
Johns Hopkins has worked alongside the city to provide
summer jobs through YouthWorks for a
number of years. In 2008, 186 youth were placed in summer
jobs at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and
several others worked for the university.
The $9 million YouthWorks campaign has raised more
than $8 million toward its goal and is
seeking contributions and additional work sites to complete
the campaign and ensure that every young
applicant is placed in a job.
The university and health system's contribution will
help increase overall participation in the
program, which last year employed 6,500 young people, an
increase of 20 percent from the previous
year. Last year, everyone who registered for a summer job
was offered one. The goal this year,
according to Baltimore city officials, is to be able to
offer 7,000 jobs.
The YouthWorks campaign is designed to get local teens
and young adults working and earning
money during the summer. The program, which is administered
by the city of Baltimore's Office of
Employment Development, is open to local youth ages 14 to
21 and is meant to expose participants to a
variety of public- and private-sector work settings.
Employers, in turn, benefit by introducing young
workers to their industries and helping them prepare for
their future careers.
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