REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR ONE SUMMER CHICAGO

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced today that more than 18,000 Chicago young adults ages 16 to 24 will gain valuable job training and work experience this summer as part of 2013's One Summer Chicago program. Additionally, over 190,000 opportunities to participate in educational and recreational opportunities will be made available for young Chicagoans, ages 6 to 24. This represents an increase in the number of jobs and opportunities available to Chicago youth from 2012.

"We want children and young adults to be safe and engaged this summer by taking full advantage of all of the excellent work, educational and recreational opportunities that we have assembled," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "Young students working on building their careers or seeking higher education will have unprecedented opportunities to learn from the best local businesses, corporations and organizations and to develop the type of knowledge and skills that will allow them a brighter future."

"One Summer Chicago is a joint effort between the City and County to provide Chicago's youth with summer job opportunities and activities designed to enhance personal development and learning in a safe environment," Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. "Mayor Emanuel and I recognize the importance of offering young people productive alternatives to help them succeed."

To help parents and children find and take advantage of these opportunities in the third year of this program, the city of Chicago website - One Summer Chicago  - is available for youth to apply for jobs through a common application and provides information to parents on how to connect with more than 190,000 other recreational activities. The site has details on jobs and internships for youth. Online registration and application for summer employment is available now through May 31, 2013. The site also helps direct families to summer camps, organized sports programs, summer field trips to cultural institutions and other noteworthy locations across the city.

One of the new initiatives that will benefit youth long after the summer of 2013 is through a collaboration with workforce.io, which uses technology and networking strategies to assist young job seekers gain employment. Under this partnership, all 18,000 job participants will be able to build their resumes, establish personal profiles and work directly with supportive area businesses to lay the career planning groundwork that they will draw from throughout their working lives. In addition, 200 high school youth will be placed across city departments to gain valuable public sector work experience.

Also new this year, Chicago's financial sector is working closely with One Summer Chicago to encourage young participants to participate in the free to youth financial literacy training program.

"Chase supports Mayor Emanuel and President Preckwinkle's commitment to help bring meaningful and sustainable opportunities to Chicago's youth this summer," said Mark Rigdon, regional head of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. "Learning is a key to that change and we believe that the EverFi Financial Literacy course will help individuals acquire the knowledge and skills needed to become productive, engaged citizens."

There are additional, specialized programs being introduced this summer focused on public safety and violence reduction. These include:

-One Summer Chicago PLUS -- A specialized youth summer employment program that seeks out high risk young men who have been involved with the justice system and want to get their lives back on track. One Summer Chicago PLUS offers participants with a 25-hour per week, six-week work experience and provides them with additional help such as social and emotional skill development and help from adult mentors to overcome barriers and develop transferable career and life skills.
-Greencorps Youth Program - An intensive six-week summer youth learning and workforce employment program run by DFSS, Greencorps and Chicago Department of Transportation. Greencorps is open to youth in specified high schools in high crime communities and provides training in 2 key areas: Horticulture and Bikes.
-Youth Working for Success - A youth employment program targeting justice-involved youth that develops youth skills to create social change through civic leadership. Youth in this program will participate in a 15-week, 10-hour per week paid work experience at organizations that address the NATO mission of Working Together for Peace and Security. This program is funded as part of a commitment made by NATO during their recent Chicago summit.
-Bridges to Pathways Initiative- An intensive six-month transitional jobs pilot for young men recently released from the Illinois Juvenile Detention Center. It includes online high school education, tiered jobs, Social Emotional Learning/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and mentoring. This is a specialized, limited program that may be expanded to be part of a national, multi-year demonstration.

Of the 18,000 job opportunities 7,000 will be with after school matters, 3,900 will be with Chicago Park District, and 2,200 will be with the Chicago Housing Authority.

The Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) leads One Summer Chicago in partnership with participating agencies including: Chicago Department of Transportation, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Housing Authority, After School Matters, Chicago Public Libraries, City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, Chicago Police Department, Mayor's Office of People with Disabilities, and Cook County Forest Preserve.

Notable private sector participants include the Chicago Community Trust, Bank of America, Boeing Corporation, McCormick Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the Rotary Club, Chicago Cares, the Urban Alliance, Smart Chicago, and the University of Chicago Crime Lab.

For more information concerning programs related to One Summer Chicago and all affiliated summer programs go to One Summer Chicago