Syracuse University was recognized as a partner in a government employment initiative called Summer Jobs+, a program that will enlist businesses and nonprofit organizations to work together to provide disadvantaged youth with employment opportunities for the summer, according to a Jan. 5 SU News release.

The goal of the program is to create 180,000 positions for summer 2012, according to a White House press release published Jan. 5.

‘America’s young people face record unemployment, and we need to do everything we can to make sure they’ve got the opportunity to earn the skills and a work ethic that come with a job,’ President Barack Obama said in the release.

SU and Central New York Works are collaborating on the Summer Youth Initiative, which will provide 250 positions to 16 to 21 year olds. CNY Works, a nonprofit corporation that helps job seekers find employment, will provide 50 of those positions.

The Syracuse Say Yes to Education summer camps will provide 200 positions. College students will work with younger kids on various academic and leadership activities, according to the SU News release. Say Yes to Education is a nonprofit education foundation that is committed to increasing graduation rates for urban youth, according to the foundation’s website.

The partnership between SU and CNY Works is aimed at teenagers who are ‘currently at risk’ and attend high school but are out for the summer. The program focuses on adding value to the work experience, according to the release.

Eric Persons, the associate vice president of government and community relations at SU, attended the White House announcement by invitation. He said he believes SU was recognized because of the leadership the university has displayed in the community as an anchor institution.

He said the partnership is a holistic effort designed to reach out to youth and provide career guidance through programs like Say Yes and CNY Works.

The university’s Summer Youth Initiative not only provides career guidance and information to disadvantaged youth, but it also helps them understand the issues, challenges and skills that come with a job, Persons said. He said it provides greater access to a successful career.

‘It’s not just a matter of providing them a paycheck but the experience of the employment or the internship,’ Persons said.

Having a connection with a career option or path is invaluable, he said. This access and level of exposure to a career path will motivate teenagers to succeed in life, both at school and at work.

Persons said he thinks the initiative is all about working with partners on a national level to consolidate information and resources to draw attention to underprivileged communities.

‘I think it’s our mission as a higher educational institution to encourage that access to education, that anchor of guidance, that these young people need,’ he said.

Pat Driscoll, the director of operations for Syracuse Say Yes, said he thinks the partnership is a positive one. The White House’s acknowledgment of SU’s work with education speaks volumes of the work being done there. It gives the community something to brag about, he said.

Say Yes’s goal within the initiative is to give college-age students experience working with young people, Driscoll said. He said he hopes the initiatives go well and that Say Yes continues to build upon the successes of previous summers.

The mission of Say Yes is to provide support services for students in every grade and into their post-secondary careers, Driscoll said, and giving college students these employment opportunities enhances that mission.

‘More importantly,’ he said, ‘we hope that the experience our college students have in teaching young people goes a long way when they start preparing for their careers after school.’

mjberner@syr.edu

Published on January 16, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Maddy: mjberner@syr.edu