Foundation is putting youth to work

GYF's Kennesaw Mountain crew

By Yan Yang

In perhaps the gloomiest year since the Great Depression for high school and college students looking for summer jobs, Greening Youth Foundation is turning out to be a savior for dozens of Atlanta-area young people. Through a variety of paid summer internships, the Atlanta foundation will employ a total of 37 young adults over the next several months. These internships, all in areas related to the environment, will give these young people a chance to connect to the outdoors, service the community, develop marketable skills, and get valuable exposure to possible careers.

According to the New York Times, the unemployment rate for the 16-to-24 age group hit 19.6 percent in April, double the national average. State and local governments desperate to stay afloat have made massive cuts in job programs, while private employers are still reluctant to hire without solid proof of a real economic recovery. As a result, the number of teenagers in the labor force this summer may fall below 30 percent—well below the traditional number of more than 50 percent.

“Everyone has fond memories of their summer jobs as they grew up. For almost half of this generation, that has been lost,” Neil Sullivan, executive director of the Boston Private Industry Council, told the Times.

However, Greening Youth Foundation is bringing welcome relief to local teens. Partnering with the National Park Service, GYF has initiated the Youth Conservation Corps, Youth Internship Programs and Junior Ranger Programs at numerous sites in Georgia, Florida and Colorado.

In Colorado, eight young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds are being trained in life skills, conservation, and land preservation and working at NPS sites throughout the state, primarily swapping thousands of less efficient incandescent lamps in the parks with fluorescent and compact fluorescent lights. At Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Site in Atlanta, one college student is working in the Junior Ranger Program to do research at the site, and two are in a Youth Internship Program to work on resource protection projects. At Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Georgia, two college students are in the Junior Ranger Program, joining eight students in the Youth Conservation Corps to help in the removal of invasive plants to preserve historical earth works. In addition, four students will intern in Florida’s Everglades National Park. In the fall, two graduate students will intern at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in a job shadow experience. GYF also hopes to place eight youth at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and one intern at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. The intent is for all of these young adults to gain insight on careers within NPS.

Carlis Brandon volunteered in a clothing store near the GYF office

In GYF’s Atlanta office, nine high school students and one college student from the Mayor’s Youth Program are involved in an 8-week program that aims to educate them about the environment, conservation, beautification, as well as work skills and ethics. When asked what they hope to get out of this experience, students said that they would like to learn about the environment and acting eco-friendly in the future. Other students expressed that they wanted to hone teamwork skills and acquaint themselves with work environment. None of these students has previous work experience. Therefore, lessons on conduct, appearance, attitude, and analytical thinking will be provided to help them develop essential skills. Sauda Jackson, GYF’s Youth Programs Manager, added that it is important to guide them on the right track at this age, the time when they need to apply to colleges and decide which careers they want to pursue in the future.

“Now they only see a small part of world,” Jackson said. “They need to get a bigger view.”

GYF Executive Director Angelou Ezeilo said the foundation is investing in youth, especially under-served ones, at this critical time so that these teenagers can change the view of their roles in the society and know their responsibility. “We see value in this, not just money,” Ezeilo said. “We want to let them impact, contribute and give back to the community.”