Mayor Turner Announces ServiceWorks Skill-Building Bootcamp for Hire Houston Youth in Partnership with Volunteer Houston, Points of Light, Houston Independent School District, and the White House Summer Opportunity Project

HOUSTON, August 4, 2016 /3BL Media/ – To celebrate the completion of young people’s summer employment through Houston Hire Youth and the local launch of the ServiceWorks program, Volunteer Houston, Points of Light, the City of Houston and the Houston Independent School District are pleased to announce a ServiceWorks Skill-Building Bootcamp on August 6, 2016 from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm at Carnegie Vanguard High School.

This high-energy, immersive experience for 150+ Houston-area young adults between the ages of 16 – 24, will give participants an introduction to how service can be a next step on their pathway to college and career, while inspiring young people to become agents for change in their own communities.

The event is being held in partnership with White House’s Summer Opportunity Project, which launched this year to ensure young Americans have access to a summer job that will give them important experience and skills development. "Helping young people find their first jobs is extremely important to President Obama. He understands that access to a job in the summer and beyond teaches young people valuable lessons about hard work and responsibility,” said Jerry Abramson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Mayor Sylvester Turner will kick-off the event and Points of Light Chairman Neil Bush will lead a lunchtime “Sunday Supper” style conversation around how racial and ethnic prejudice impacts not just Houston communities, but a young person’s pathway to success in school and in the workplace.

"Summer employment provides young people with an opportunity to gain workforce readiness skills, and links them to long-term career opportunities,” said Mayor Turner.

ServiceWorks Bootcamps feature workshops on topics including leadership, project management, and communication and networking, along with a service project benefiting the local community.

About Hire Houston Youth:

Hire Houston Youth provided approximately 500 local youth with an eight-week summer job or internship experience with many of Houston’s top employers. Students worked between 32-40 hours a week for seven weeks, earning at least $8 an hour.

About Houston Independent School District:

The Houston Independent School District is the largest school district in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States. It serves approximately 215,000 students at 283 campuses and is one of the largest employers in Houston, with about 29,000 team members.

About ServiceWorks:

ServiceWorks – powered by AmeriCorps, the Citi Foundation and Points of Light – is a groundbreaking, national program that uses community engagement and volunteer service as the primary strategies to help underserved young adults develop the skills they need to prepare for college and careers.

About Volunteer Houston:

Volunteer Houston, established in 1974, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development, promotion and support of volunteerism. For more than 41 years, Volunteer Houston has been the city's sole referral service connecting volunteers to a broad spectrum of diverse nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit organizations all around Houston and its vicinity rely on Volunteer Houston to acquire over 50,000 volunteers per year, for more information go to www.volunteerhouston.org.

About the White House Summer Opportunity Project:

Launched in February 2016, the goal of the Summer Opportunity Project is to increase the number of young Americans participating in evidence-based summer opportunity programs, decrease the percentage of youth experiencing violence over the summer, and make sure that young Americans have the support they need to get their first job.