On a stifling hot morning, a group of ten 14- and 15-year-olds huddled around a cluster of desks at Harlem Park Middle School in West Baltimore. They weren’t here for summer school—these young people were selected to participate in YouthWorks, a widely popular opportunity among local teens looking for jobs from June to August. This year, a record 9,400 youth applied to participate.

Placed at Baltimore City schools, the youngest YouthWorks participants earned an hourly wage as they maintained a clean campus and helped school administrators with special projects. This year, instead of getting straight to work each morning, youth spent a few hours learning and practicing life skills with a small group of peers. They trained using Passport to Success® (PTS), the IYF curriculum that has prepared more than 100,000 young people in over 40 countries for productive employment. This new connection to Baltimore youth comes as the result of a partnership with the Mayor’s Office for Employment Development and the Family League.

Chanae Boice is a 16-year-old living in West Baltimore and enjoying her second summer employed with a YouthWorks job.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Greater Baltimore Committee President and CEO Donald C. Fry, and other community leaders will highlight 2016 YouthWorks milestones and successes.

The Anderson Automotive Youth Opportunity Program is a partnership between Anderson Automotive and Youth Opportunity (YO) Baltimore, a Mayor’s Office of Employment Development initiative serving out-ofschool and out-of-work young adults.  It's proven to be an innovative way to introduce youth interested in automotive careers to the automotive industry. This partnership not only meets the immediate needs of both the company and the participants, it also assists youth in finding a stable and rewarding career.