City hosts annual Summer Youth Employment Program lottery
Published 8:03 pm Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Selma mayor George Evans, left, shakes hands with Jessica Burt after she was selected during the Summer Youth Employment Program lottery Wednesday evening at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center in Selma. (Jay Sowers | Times-Journal)
By Scottie Brown
The Selma-Times Journal
The Carl Morgan Convention Center was filled with potential participants for this year’s Summer Youth Employment Program early Wednesday evening. Many hopefuls occupied the seats filling the space, and some even took to the walls hoping to hear their names called.
With the Summer Youth Employment Program only being able to offer only 180 job opportunities to the astounding 439 applicants, many were left wanting. The program gives applicants between the ages of 15 and 22 the opportunity to work 16 hours a week Monday through Thursday for four weeks.
Edera Gary, mother to Nikedra Ross, a 17-year-old applicant to the process, said the program helps her daughter understand the need for a work ethic and she has benefited greatly from the opportunities given to her.
“I just pray that in the future, more funding becomes available,” Gary said. “I hope that this is something they do every year. My daughter is a senior, so she will be graduating this year, but I do hope that they continue this program.”
In order to choose participants names from each ward were drawn by Selma City Council members and the mayor. The city structured the program to have two separate sections in hopes that they would be able to provide more job opportunities for this year’s applicants.
“We’ve tried every year,” said Selma Mayor George Evans. “We write letters to churches, businesses and people asking for them to sponsor a child or even to adopt a child. So far we haven’t gotten the numbers we like. I wish we had the money to hire every child that wanted to work, but as it is we haven’t been able to reach that goal. Maybe before it’s over we might be able to.”
The first section will run from Tuesday, June 3 to Monday, June 30. The second section will begin that following Monday, July 7, and go to Thursday, July 31. The participants will not work the last day of the sessions, but instead attend an event at the convention center.
See Friday’s copy of the Times-Journal for complete coverage of Wednesday’s event.
