Girls Inc. of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey has been selected by the Philadelphia Youth Network to operate a summer career exposure program as a WorkReady partner organization. The Girls Inc. Young Women in Construction camp will be held from July 6- August 14, 2020 and will provide girls with an incentivized opportunity to gain hands-on experience in different trades in construction. This camp is provided by the Philadelphia Youth Network in partnership with MyWIC and Girls Inc. of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Through a competitive procurement process, PYN has contracted with more than 80 WorkReady partner organizations, including Girls Inc. of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, to operate over 100 programs. This network of partner organizations is larger than ever before, providing young people with opportunities to connect with the youth-serving organizations most accessible to them. This year, WorkReady is offering five different program types to provide a wide variety of experiences for young people to participate in throughout the summer. Program offerings range from exploring career options, giving back to their communities, practicing basic or advanced work skills and experiencing new ways to learn through work.
In 2020, WorkReady partners launched #ALLin4WorkReady, a campaign to support summer jobs. WorkReady is a 6-week summer job opportunity for young people ages 12- 24 who live in Philadelphia. For many young people, summer jobs are a critical first introduction to the world of work. Each year, more than 16,000 young people apply for roughly 8,000 summer jobs. WorkReady partners, including the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Youth Network and the Summer Youth Employment Cabinet, are #ALLin4WorkReady and working to engage more partners to scale efforts so that more young people can work this summer. There are three ways to get involved at workready.org:
- Apply at if you’re between 12-24 living in Philadelphia
- Hire young people this summer at your business to help change the career trajectory of a young person in Philadelphia by supporting summer jobs.
- Donate to the Philly Summer Jobs Fund today to create more opportunities. Every dollar helps us on our goal to raise $5 million in new funds for summer 2020.
“We are #ALLin4WorkReady, and we hope that you will be, too,” said Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, President & CEO, Philadelphia Youth Network. “Please accept this as my invitation to help cultivate the talent and the potential that I see in our City’s young people. No matter who you are, there is a way for you to get involved—apply, hire or donate today.”
On Monday, February 24, WorkReady partners hosted a press conference at City Hall to kickoff #ALLin4WorkReady and share updates about the WorkReady system this year:
- Mayor James Kenney will reaffirm the City’s commitment to young people in alignment with Fueling Philadelphia’s Talent Engine that prioritizes youth employment in Philadelphia.
- Deputy Mayor, Cynthia Figueroa, will discuss the impact of summer jobs on youth and our communities as well as the City’s investment in WorkReady.
- Patrick Clancy, Philadelphia Works, will discuss summer jobs as a workforce strategy
- Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, Philadelphia Youth Network(PYN), will discuss the important role that summer jobs have as well as expanded opportunities, resources and ways to get involved
- Sharmain Matlock-Turner, Urban Affairs Coalition, will explain how businesses and can hire or sponsor an intern this summer, including the benefits it can bring to your organization.
- Sidney Hargro, Philanthropy Network, will discuss the launch of the Philly Summer Jobs fund, and share how any individual can donate any amount to support WorkReady.
- Nina Zarwie, WorkReady participant, will share her WorkReady story and the impact that a summer job has had on the trajectory of her life and urge other young people to apply.
“Increasing access to summer jobs and providing young people with these opportunities is key to realizing the goals in our citywide workforce development strategy,” said Mayor Kenney. “We know more than 16,000 young people apply for WorkReady every year. Together, by increasing our investments and growing the number of employers committed to welcoming young people into their place of business, we can help connect them to high quality work experiences in industries across the city.”
“The impact of a summer job goes beyond the individual and into our communities,” said Cynthia Figueroa, Deputy Mayor, Office of Children and Families. “This is why we invest in WorkReady and why we are urging everyone to join the effort to help us provide more jobs for our youth this summer.”
For more information, and to get started, visit www.workready.org today!
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About WorkReady:
WorkReady is a 6-week summer job for 12-24-year-olds in Philadelphia. For many young people, summer jobs are a critical first introduction to the world of work. WorkReady offers 5 program types through 70 partner organizations, providing more than 1,000 places for young people to work each summer. Each year, more than 16,000 young people apply annually for roughly 8,000 opportunities. WorkReady partners and supporters are working to raise awareness and raise funds so that more young people can work this summer. WorkReady is managed by the Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN). For more information, visit www.workready.org.
About the Philadelphia Youth Network:
The Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) is a solutions-builder forging together significant players to alleviate a root cause of poverty by preparing 12-24-year-olds to become productive working adults. Our work is grounded in the understanding that young people need access to both education and employment, proven factors in being prepared for a career. With a track record of increasing impact, PYN funds and brokers action with the right partners to collectively address barriers. PYN constructs systems to create change, while innovating to meet evolving needs. Together with our partners, PYN dramatically changes the trajectory of individuals’ lives by giving voice to underserved youth, and ultimately creating a pipeline for an educated, engaged workforce. For more information, visit www.pyninc.org.