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REPRINTED FROM THENEXTMAYOR.COMApr. 5, 2007 press release, (submitted via e-mail) |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Barbara Fellencer
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State Rep. Dwight Evans D-Philadelphia www.pahouse.com/evans
PHILADELPHIA (APRIL 5) – Representative Dwight Evans today pledged $820,000 in state funding to the Philadelphia Youth Network, money that will allow the organization to hire several hundred young people for a summer jobs program that was facing major cutbacks.
“A summer job isn’t just about earning spending money, it’s about gaining valuable experience in the workforce that ranges from taking responsibility to building social skills,” said Evans, D-Phila., who is chairman of the state House Appropriations Committee. “By investing this money in summer jobs for our young people, we are investing in our future.”
In addition to pledging the money, Evans called on elected officials, business leaders and the public to help raise the additional $480,000 so no youth jobs have to be cut this summer. Because of the increase in the minimum wage, the city’s program that provides jobs to young people would have to cut 1,100 jobs for youth. Evans also hopes others will step forward to help raise an additional $4 million so that another 3,000 youth can be placed in jobs instead of on a waiting list for jobs.
The summer jobs program is a component of WorkReady Philadelphia. It is overseen by the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board Youth Council and managed by Philadelphia Youth Network. The federal, state and city governments, foundations, corporations, Philadelphia School District and Philadelphia Housing Authority provide $8.5 million in funding for the program. Youth ages 14 and 15 are paid a training wage, while those 16 and older earn the minimum wage for working 20 hours per week for six weeks.
In 2006, public agencies and private businesses hired 7,250 young people through the program. But with the increase in the minimum wage to $7.15 per hour, WorkReady Philadelphia estimated it needed $1.3 million to save 1,100 jobs slated to be cut this summer.
"We have so many talented young people who are looking for meaningful ways to spend their summer. It is hard to turn them away and these resources will allow us to turn fewer youth away this summer,” said Laura Shubilla, president of the Philadelphia Youth Network.
Evans’ commitment of $820,000 is part of the Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia, which is funded through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. It will save 630 of the jobs. Among the objectives in the Blueprint plan, which Evans created, is an emphasis on education and job training as part of an overall strategy to reduce youth crime.
“Thanks to Representative Evans’ support, hundreds more young people now will have access to high-quality, academically-enriched workplace experiences this summer,” said Tracee Hunt, Vice President of Human Resources and Public Relations for Philadelphia Coca Cola Bottling Company and Chair of the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board Youth Council. “This is an extremely important investment in these young people, and also in the long-term well-being of our City.”
“The thousands of young people GPUAC has placed in summer jobs over the past 37 years tell us that these jobs mean much more than a paycheck,” said Sharmain Matlock-Turner, president of the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition. “They encourage young people to stay in school and continue their education, and result in new career opportunities.”
Another summer work program that WorkReady Philadelphia supports is a partnership with the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce to identify 1,000 employer-paid summer internships for Philadelphia youth.
“The business community is behind this initiative to get 1,000 internships because we believe these will be a tremendous positive experience for both young people and employers,” said Mark Schweiker, president & CEO, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. “We are doing our part with WorkReady Philadelphia to provide opportunity to Philadelphia youth, and we support Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia and its commitment.
“We commend Rep. Evans for making this funding available at a time when it will make the most difference. By bridging the funding gap, Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia will help more young people take steps to becoming productive workers and citizens.”
The Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia (www.phillyblueprint.com) initiative is a 10-year community-based violence prevention program that seeks to eliminate all youth homicide in Philadelphia by the year 2016.
The Blueprint initiative will heighten public awareness of alternatives to violence; provide youth and their families with access to support and resources, along with options for changing their lives; and empower local community-based organizations to address the root needs of area youth.
WorkReady Philadelphia was established by the Youth Council of the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board in 2003 to coordinate and expand youth employment opportunities throughout the city.
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For more information about Rep. Dwight Evans’ legislative initiatives, visit the website www.pahouse.net/evans.
For more information about the House Appropriations Committee, visit the website www.hacd.net