Wawa, Temple and Santander support youth program
Mayor Michael A. Nutter recently hosted a Teen Summer Job & Opportunities Fair focused on paid summer employment, volunteer positions and basic training for youth ages 14 – 21 years old. As part of the Fun Safe Philly Summer campaign, the Fair offered trainings to youth on resume building, interview skills and financial literacy and direct access to employers. About 1,000 students and their parents attended the Fair, which provided access to more than 550 job and volunteer opportunities in Philadelphia. The fair was held at Temple University’s Howard Gittis Student Center.
“One of the most important ways we can support young people is to ensure that they have access to opportunities to grow, learn and begin to engage in the workforce,” said Mayor Nutter. “Today’s Teen Summer Job & Opportunities Fair does that by bringing youth, trainers and employers together to build knowledge and connect youth to summer employment and volunteer opportunities. I congratulate all of the youth who attended today’s Fair for investing in their future.”
As part of its sponsorship, Wawa provided free lunches and totes to all participants, raffle prize gift cards and resume and interview skills training.
“At Wawa we are thrilled to be able to provide assistance to this very important cause,” said Chris Gheysens, Wawa’s President and CEO. “Especially in our hometown of Philadelphia, we are passionate about creating jobs and economic impact, and it’s great to see our city rallying behind the next generation of great minds and future leaders.”
Kenneth E. Lawrence, Senior Vice President for Governmental Relations at Temple University, said, “As a civic and educational leader, Temple University is happy to host the Teen Summer Job & Opportunities Fair to help connect Philadelphia teens with employers and job training opportunities. We’re proud to join the City of Philadelphia in working to ensure all teens have productive and safe summers.”
Mayor Nutter added, “I would like to thank the sponsors of today’s Fair including Wawa, Temple University, Santander, and the employers who helped to ensure that young people have employment and volunteer opportunities this summer. I would also like to thank our partners for their work creating this important event: Fun Safe Philly Summer, PhillyGoes2College, Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services, the Philadelphia Youth Commission, KEYSPOTs, Philadelphia Works, the Philadelphia Youth Network, SERVE Philadelphia and PhillyRising.”
In addition, Santander provided interested youth with free checking accounts; the Graduation Coaches Campaign provided information to parents and adults about paying for college and helping students graduate from high school; and Career Wardrobe, which provides individuals with work-ready clothing and career skills, hosted a career fashion show highlighting appropriate work attire.
Participants who attended the workshops were entered in to a raffle drawing including tickets to Phillies games in the Mayor’s box, as well as gift cards to Wawa, Starbucks and Fun Safe Philly Summer t-shirts.
For more information on summer youth programming options and for a full list of program start dates and times, call 3-1-1 or log on to www.funsafephillysummer.com. Follow Fun Safe Philly Summer on Twitter @PhillySummer or on Tumblr at www.funsafephillysummer.tumblr.com
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