Thirty Baytown students will join the ranks of City of Baytown employees this summer, thanks to the efforts of the Mayor and City Council, City staff, ExxonMobil, Lee College, local businesses and various other organizations. The students will work at the City as part of the 2009 Mayor & ExxonMobil Green Team Summer Youth Work Program.
The Summer Youth Work Program, which had been dormant for many years, was re-established by Mayor Stephen DonCarlos in 2006, and employed ten Baytown students between the ages of 16 - 18 for six weeks during the summer. This year, the Summer Youth Work Program will employ thirty Baytown students for eight weeks. Eligible students submitted applications and went through an interview process with a panel of three City employees to be selected for the program.
“Our Summer Youth Work Program strives to instill good work ethics and habits in our young people, and provide them with on-the-job training for various skills,” said Mayor DonCarlos. These kids are our future, so it is important to provide them with information on a variety of career opportunities, and to stress the value of hard work and education,” he added.
Those hired will work from June 22 through August 14, 2009; and will be assigned to various city departments including Police, Public Works, Health, Finance, Fire, Planning, Animal Control and the Sterling Municipal Library. While employed, students will perform non-hazardous administrative, beautification, neighborhood protection and maintenance duties such as picking up litter, painting, landscaping, mowing, weed eating, typing, filing and other clerical/receptionist duties as assigned.
Lee College has partnered with the Mayor and Exxonmobil Green Team Summer Youth Work Program to sponsor various workshops to assist in preparing the participants, including: resume writing, interviewing techniques, dressing for success, communications, leadership/teambuilding, game design, drafting, criminal justice, instrumentation, audio recording, nursing and office technology as well as encouraging the students to look towards the future and begin planning a career path.
At the conclusion of the six-weeks, the Mayor and Exxonmobil Green Team Summer Youth Work Program will host a field trip and awards luncheon for the students that successfully complete the program.
The following contributors are responsible for the success of this program: ExxonMobil Foundation, Lee College, Bayer Foundation, Baytown Drafting, Inc., Verizon, Comcast, Klotz Associates, Inc., Claunch & Miller, and Community Resource Credit Union.
To contribute funds to the Mayor and ExxonMobil Green Team Summer Youth Work Program, contact Gina Rivon, Program Coordinator, at 281-420-6501.