INVESTING IN SUMMER YOUTH JOBS AND FINANCIAL EDUCATION

WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors is committed to promoting the well-being and positive development of the nation’s youth; and

WHEREAS, a key component of this commitment is to foster the creation of summer job opportunities for youth in cities across the United States; and

WHEREAS, through involvement in summer jobs programs, youth are able to gain the necessary skills and work experience needed to prepare them for future careers; and

WHEREAS, according to a 2012 U.S. Conference of Mayors/Zogby Poll, only 30 percent of businesses hired a youth under the age of 23 for the summer, and 86.3 percent of businesses were never asked; and

WHEREAS, according to the same study, an overwhelming 73.7 percent of businesses that hired youth deemed their skills as either excellent or good, and 70.4 percent thought that the experience was fulfilling and productive; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors recognizes the critical role that businesses play in overall job creation, and encourages cities to reach out to members of the business community and ask them to create summer job opportunities for youth; and

WHEREAS, The United Stated Conference of Mayors applauds the members of the private, public, and nonprofit sectors who have made it their responsibility to help create summer jobs and place youth in their own organizations; and

WHEREAS, in order to identify cities with outstanding summer youth employment programs, The U.S. Conference of Mayors has launched its first annual 2013 National Summer Jobs Challenge, inviting cities to describe their youth employment initiatives in an application process, and recognizing three winners at the 2014 U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington, DC; and

WHEREAS, through the DollarWise Campaign, the U.S. Conference of Mayors has emphasized the importance of financial literacy training to be offered within summer jobs programs so that youth have the opportunity to learn how to responsibly use the money that they earn; and

WHEREAS, during summer of 2013, the DollarWise Campaign will invite youth involved in summer jobs to participate in the DollarWise Summer Youth Jobs Contest where youth across the United States will have the opportunity to win an assortment of prizes for completing a set of online financial education modules related to checking accounts, savings accounts, budgeting, credit cards, and financial planning; and

WHEREAS, the DollarWise Campaign has maintained the goal of integrating a financial education component into every summer youth jobs program by 2015,

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls on all mayors to establish partnerships with members of the private and nonprofit sectors and ask them to create summer job opportunities for youth; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls on cities with summer jobs programs to participate in the 2013 National Summer Jobs Challenge as well as the 2013 DollarWise Summer Youth Jobs Contest, and to also integrate a financial education component into their programs.