July 25, 2012 — Jordan Daugherty, an incoming freshman at Morehead State University, is taking part in the SummerWorks2012 program in Louisville.
Daugherty works at Kosair Children’s Hospital and will be a nursing student at MSU in the fall.
“Louisville businesses, nonprofit foundations, community leaders and Metro Council have helped SummerWorks2012 exceed my expectations with more than $1 million in financial support and job commitments,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.
“Providing meaningful jobs for our young people is one of the most important steps we can take as a community,” Fischer said. “It can change the future of that young person – and it’s also critically important to our city’s future. We are very grateful to everyone who has helped make this summer jobs program a success this year.”
This is the second year that Mayor Fischer has reached out to business and community leaders for help in funding the summer jobs program. He set two ambitious goals for SummerWorks 2012: 1) to raise more than $1 million in funding and job commitments from participating companies; and 2) to help at least 400 young people find work through the program.
Exceeding $1 million in donations and job commitments for SummerWorks2012 doubles what was raised last year, and 288 youth are working so far with more than 40 employers throughout Louisville.
On the Norton Healthcare downtown campus, 13 SummerWorks participants are currently employed for this summer. A total of 97 young adults are working for and being paid by private employers this summer – a significant change from previous summer jobs efforts.
“We are always looking for ways to extend learning for our students as we have a limited number of hours and days with them in the classroom,” said Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Donna Hargens. “A summer job helps students retain the information they have learned during the year and make stronger connections between schoolwork and life.”
The SummerWorks2012 program is led by KentuckianaWorks, Greater Louisville’s Workforce Investment Board, in partnership with Jefferson County Public Schools Adult and Continuing Education through the KentuckianaWorks Youth Career Center.
