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Riverside To Benefit From $4.4 Million Grant To Establish Youth Job Corps

Published: 5/3/2022




 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

May 3, 2022

           

Contact:

Phil Pitchford

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Riverside To Benefit From $4.4 Million Grant To Establish Youth Job Corps

Program touted at event with Mayor Lock Dawson, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, and California Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The new Riverside Youth Job Corps program, funded by a $4.4 million state grant, will provide crucial job opportunities for young people in Riverside, Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said Tuesday (5/3) in a joint news conference with U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo and California Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday.

The event, held at the Bourns Youth Innovation Center in Riverside, focused on how the three-year grant could help young people begin new careers while addressing the challenges of food insecurity, climate resiliency, and COVID 19 recovery.

“Opportunities that equip young people with the tools necessary to succeed in the workplace have become all too rare” Lock Dawson said. “The CaliforniansForAll Youth Jobs Corps will ensure our young Riversiders do not miss these opportunities to reach their full potential. We will create pathways for our youth to confidently enter the local workforce and have a prosperous career in Riverside with the skills learned through this program.”

The program, created in partnership with California Volunteers, is aimed at helping more than 150 young people ages 16-30 learn new skills while earning money and creating a pathway to a new career. The event this morning also included a roundtable discussion in which young people were able to provide input to decision-makers on how the program could be most effective.

“I know firsthand that so much of our lives can be determined by the opportunities we receive when we are young—from the schools we attend to the skills we learn. That is why the Youth Jobs Corps program is such an important initiative to create opportunity for California’s young people,” said Deputy Secretary Adeyemo, who grew up in Rialto. “This program gives young people the chance to earn a good living and start off their careers on the right foot while serving their communities. I’m also proud that this program is being funded in part through the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds passed as part of the American Rescue Plan.”

Potential career pathways include jobs that combat problems like:

  • food insecurity, through farmworker education/development, food pantry distribution and delivery of meals to senior citizens.
  • climate resiliency, through tree planting and care, geocoding and urban heat island mapping
  • COVID-19 recovery, through coding and tech programming, STEM learning, and emergency COVID response and coordination.

“The #CaliforniansForAll Youth Jobs Corps is a win for our young people, the City of Riverside and the state of California,” Fryday said. “California is investing in underserved youth and bringing people together in service to uplift our communities.”

Coverage of the event can be viewed at www.facebook.com/CityofRiversideLockDawson or www.facebook.com/CityofRiverside

For the latest information and resources regarding COVID-19 -- www.RiversideCA.gov/COVID-19