Youth Enrolled in Boston's Summer Jobs Program Attend Youth Enrichment Day

BOSTON - Thursday, July 6, 2017 - Confirming Boston’s commitment to creating opportunities for Boston’s students, Mayor Martin J. Walsh today hosted 2,000 Boston youth at the City's Fourth Annual Youth Enrichment Day. The event included an speaking program, with Mayor Walsh as the keynote speaker, followed by enrichment workshops for youth employees hired through the SuccessLink Mayor's Summer Jobs Program, held at Boston University’s Agganis Arena. All students who participated in the Enrichment program will be employed by the City of Boston this summer.

“As a City, we're proud to recognize our hardworking teens and the commitment they've made to grow this summer,” said Mayor Walsh. “Our young people have the power to change our City, especially through the Youth Lead the Change Participatory Budgeting Process. One of our top priorities is always finding new opportunities for youth to gain valuable experiences and skills to help build strong futures."

The theme of the event was “Grab the Wheel” and the remarks and workshops focused on the importance of seizing opportunities, taking on leadership roles and putting aside fear of failure or unfamiliarity.

During the speaking program,the youth listened to talks from Mayor Walsh; Boston Centers for Youth & Families Commissioner William Morales; Boston’s Chief of Health & Human Services, Felix Arroyo; and Boston University Associate Provost and Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore.After the speaking program, students participated in professional and personal development workshops in Financial Literacy in partnership with Junior Achievement, and Trauma & Resilience: Knowledge, strategies & resources for managing stress and building resilience facilitated by the Boston Public Health Commission.  

The students who attended Youth Enrichment Day will be working across the City in a variety of jobs such as staffing summer camps and programs, working at Boston’s museums and cultural locations, supporting businesses downtown and more. The workshops provided the youth -- many of whom have never worked  before -- with the tools for success at work, how to make better decisions with the money they will earn and addressed the important topic of dealing with trauma with the older youth at the event.

“Working during the summer has introduced me to amazing people, taught me how to act in a professional setting and helped me decide what I want to do in the future,” said Cheyenne Paterson, a 16-year-old student from Dorchester who attends Latin Academy.

At Youth Enrichment Day, Mayor Walsh also announced the winning Capital projects to be funded by $1 million of the City’s budget. Boston youth ages 12-25 selected and voted on the projects through Youth Lead the Change. The projects to be funded are:

• "Get Hired" Truck, A resource truck devoted to provide youth with the ability to search for jobs, build/modify resumes, and give them access to search and apply for jobs;

• Informative Homeless Resources, a digital billboard displaying resources and job opportunities available to the homeless youth;

• Performing and Visual Arts Studio,  a space where people of all ages can come together and create all types of art;

• Future Media Center, a space that would contain recent technology that would otherwise be unavailable to most students;

• Youth Retail Space, a mobile retail space for youth entrepreneurs.
   

Mayor Walsh has made youth summer employment a priority for his Administration, pledging to place 10,000 Boston youth in meaningful summer employment. In the fiscal year 2017 budget, Mayor Walsh allocated over $5 million to fund youth jobs through the BCYF Division of Youth Engagement & Employment. In addition to SuccessLink, several partnering organizations help the City to hire youth through the Mayor's Summer Jobs Program.