October 2009 If you want to know how intractable the unemployment problem is in Detroit, talk to any group of 18 – 24-year-olds and you’ll be amazed at how few have ever had a summer job.
That’s why McDonald’s owner and operator, Jamar Thrower, decided that the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) was an opportunity he couldn’t refuse.
“We are always open to getting involved in anything positive to help the community,” said the owner of Jamjomar, Inc. “This was an unbelievable chance for us to train young people at no cost to us, then have them ready to hire when the summer was over.”
Thrower is one of dozens of for-profit employers who participated in SYEP this summer. The Detroit program, which serves an average of 2,500 youth each year, received an injection of .2 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act this summer. The federal money helped increase the scope of the program to serve about 7,000 youth ages 14 – 24.
SYEP Participation is Good for Business
With the drastic increase in the number of youth served, City Connect Detroit, acting on behalf of the Detroit Youth Employment Consortium, decided to enlist the help of the business community in addition to the traditional non-profit supporters of the summer program. It was not an easy sell.
“In a troubled economic climate, many businesses were focused on downsizing, not making room for new employees,” said City Connect Detroit CEO Geneva J. Williams. “But when we made it clear that we were providing the youth and paying their salaries, many businesses jumped at the chance to give young people a taste of the real work environment.”
Thrower employed 13 youth in his two Detroit stores. “In such a depressed time, it’s important to expose kids to earning a paycheck and to teach them accountability,” said Thrower, who trained his SYEP youth in all aspects of running his business. “It was such a good experience for me as the employer, I would have no trouble recommending that other stores in our consortium participate next year.”
Cultivating Future Employees
