the big picture
The arrival of COVID-19 in the spring made it a uniquely difficult time to prepare for the SummerWorks season. Many other cities cancelled their summer youth jobs programs for the year. But, with the help of funders and partners who stepped up during this time of uncertainty, we were able to have a very safe, innovative, and productive SummerWorks 2020.
As you’ll see in this season review, SummerWorks youth were able to take advantage of many new remote and outdoor learning activities, including two pilot technology initiatives. We are also very happy and thankful to report that, as of now, we are not aware of any instance of a SummerWorks young person testing positive for COVID-19 during the 2020 season.
Mayor Fischer helped raise additional $1.4 million in response to the pandemic
During tough and uncertain times, the James Graham Brown Foundation, the One Louisville: COVID-19 Response Fund, and the Gheens Foundation backed SummerWorks for an additional $1.4 million, more than doubling the program’s budget for the season. This funding allowed SummerWorks to dramatically increase the number of sponsored job placements at community organizations, which helped make up for the decrease in private sector activity due to the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
The overall financial support for the SummerWorks 2020 season has been a testament to Louisville’s leadership and resilience as a community. We know that a good, safe summer job can make a huge difference in a young person’s life, and that opportunity is even more important when so many families are struggling to weather a public health crisis and difficult economic conditions.
Click here to see the full list of SummerWorks funders for the 2020 season. Check out the short videos below to hear from some of the youth who worked in sponsored jobs through the Louisville Metro Parks Department.
More jobs for the youth who needed them the most
SummerWorks’ Vision is for all Louisville youth to possess the skills, resources, and networks needed to connect to employment, economic opportunity, and lifelong career success. Since Mayor Fischer founded the program in 2011, SummerWorks has made it a priority to find resources and jobs for the young people in our community who may not be able to access them otherwise.
The program’s focus on improving access for youth who are members of underrepresented and marginalized groups was especially important this season. In addition to placing more minority youth and youth from low-income neighborhoods into jobs, SummerWorks also partnered with the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods to create the Fellowship on Civic Engagement in response to the racial justice protests in Louisville and across the nation.
Direct Placement Youth from High priority zip codes
New tech initiatives provided unique opportunities to learn and earn
SummerWorks offered two new tech initiatives to youth participants this season. One of those, the SummerWorks Tech Academy, paid hundreds of youth across Louisville to take online courses in areas like computer coding, graphic design, business applications, and much more. This benefited young people who needed to make money (especially those who weren’t able to get an in-person job due to COVID-19) and benefits the city by cultivating more young tech talent for the future workforce.
The other tech initiative was TECC Boss (which stands for Technology Entrepreneurship to Create Change), in which a group of forty participants (who were predominantly Black and female) designed and built their own mobile apps meant to address community needs. This project was done in partnership with the nonprofit TECH-Nique, led by Alisia McClain.
Hear from two SummerWorks Tech Academy participants, Jedidiah and Myisha, in the videos below.
“This summer, I obtained hard skills that I’ll need in school and my future career, like software programming. I also learned how to make an effective pitch, which made me more interested in becoming an entrepreneur...TECC Boss boosted my confidence and helped me become a better me.”
Continued to build partnerships with local employers
Despite a very challenging year for many companies, SummerWorks’ Champion Employers still hired more than 3,000 youth this season. Many of these companies, including Humana, GE Appliances, Kentucky Kingdom, UPS, Thorntons, and Kroger have been partners with SummerWorks for many years and have hired thousands of young people across the city.
Greater Louisville Inc. and the Academies of Louisville at JCPS have continued to be key partners of SummerWorks in recruiting local businesses and building a more robust talent pipeline for Louisville youth.
You can hear from one of the SummerWorks youth who worked at Humana in the video below.
““This was my first summer job and I learned the importance of being prepared and showing up on time. I started as an Aquatic Attendant but got training to be a lifeguard and I’m really enjoying the experience so far.””
Funders
Thank you to our funders for making all of this work possible. Your generosity is helping to promote equity and is preparing the next generation of leaders in our city and beyond.
