Mayor Sheila Dixon's administration has met its goal of finding summer jobs for 6,500 students this year but is still seeking commitments from local businesses to secure positions for about 120 young people, city officials said yesterday.
With weeks to go before school ends in Baltimore next month, the city is pushing for businesses to hire the remaining students for the city's YouthWorks program - an effort that proponents said keeps minors off the street and gives them valuable workplace experience.
The city has secured jobs for 6,580 students - far more than last year, when 5,420 got jobs and another 1,200 were turned away. City Hall spokesman Sterling Clifford said the city still hopes to find work for the remaining students who signed up for jobs this year.
"There are as many reasons to do this program as there are kids in it," Clifford said.
"There is the obvious reason of giving kids a place to be in the summertime ... and there's the additional benefit of exposing kids to positive adult role models."
Businesses spend $1,250 to sponsor students ranging in age from 14 to 21. They work 30 hours a week for six weeks and receive minimum wage, said Karen Sitnick, director of the Mayor's Office of Employment Development, which oversees the effort.
"They're doing something productive, and they're learning how the workplace works," Sitnick said.
Last year, Dixon proposed expanding YouthWorks, and this year Baltimore spent $2.4 million on jobs, a $700,000 increase.
Proponents say the program gives students something constructive to do during the summer instead of hanging out on the streets.
Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III recently praised the program as an example of the city's approach to preventing crime.
But those involved with the program said it also gives students a chance to learn the importance of showing up for work on time, dressing appropriately and managing money - valuable lessons, proponents say, that will help young people in the future.
"It was a great job experience, and it should help me to set up my own business someday," said Tashira Smith, a 17-year-old high school student who said she hopes to open a restaurant. "It was just fun."
Last summer, Smith worked for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, and she will be there again this summer.
The company is in its sixth year hiring students and will employ seven young people this summer, including Smith, said Beverly League, college relations coordinator for the health insurance giant.
