A residential corner in Evanston with brick apartment buildings. Photo: Eric Fredericks from Rancho Cordova, CA, United States / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Evanston’s Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program took first place in the small-city category of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ National Summer Youth Jobs Challenge, honors presented in January 2015 at the group’s winter meeting in Washington, D.C.
The challenge recognizes partnerships between city governments and local businesses and nonprofits that create summer work for young people. Madison, Wis., and Houston won the medium and large city categories, the Daily Northwestern reported. Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl was recognized alongside the city.
The numbers behind the award
In summer 2014, the program provided jobs and workforce training to more than 500 Evanston teenagers. The Daily Northwestern credited Tisdahl’s work with local employers for a 225 percent increase in private-sector employment for young people. Funding comes from several local and state sources, including $200,000 from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Youth Recreation Corps.
The program began in 1992 and serves Evanston residents ages 14 to 18. Participants get up to nine weeks of entry-level work at community organizations, city departments and private businesses. They also attend workshops on topics such as personal finance and workforce readiness. The city describes it as workforce development as much as summer employment, with career instruction, financial literacy, academic improvement and social and emotional growth in the mix. The previous year’s job fair drew 610 students, and openings ranged from legislative internships and library help to camp counseling and child care assistance.
A bigger goal for 2015
Tisdahl set a goal this year of offering jobs to 1,000 Evanston young people, roughly double the 2014 total. Reaching it will depend on how many employers sign on, and the city is again recruiting businesses to hire teens through the program.
The annual job fair is Saturday, March 28, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Ave. Young people are encouraged to complete the program application beforehand, and the city said the form would be posted online in the coming weeks.
The 2014 job fair set a record for attendance. The workshops on budgeting and workplace expectations are meant to carry over into participants’ later employment, not just the summer placement.
Since its start, the program has served thousands of Evanston teenagers, according to the city.
Rachel Lindqvist covers community life, the lakefront, dining and the arts for The Evanston Edge.
