Youth Opportunities Unlimited: Employment for Northeast Ohio Teens/Internships/Volunteer

http://www.youthopportunities.org/employment.aspx

Each year, hundreds of teens enroll in Y.O.U. programs in order to secure such a job, and each spring, thousands of teens register at our website in hopes of getting a summer job. A job may last just a few weeks, but it can profoundly impact youth in many ways:

• Y.O.U. serves teens living in families at or below poverty level – the income earned helps teens and their families
• Jobs provide a constructive opportunity and a safe environment for teen to work and learn
• Teens learn the skills they need to obtain a job and – equally important – to retain it
• Teens learn first-hand about different careers that, with more education, lead to rewarding careers
• Teens are mentored by Y.O.U. staff and their supervisors

Volunteer for Y.O.U.

Do you want to make a difference in the lives of youth in our community? If you are over the age of 18, we invite you to join us!

Volunteering with Y.O.U. gives you the opportunity to:

• Directly impact the lives of local teens who live in disadvantaged circumstances
• Prepare students to enter the world of work, and shape tomorrow's workforce
• Enable youth to learn and grow
• Share your wealth of education, career, and life experience to cultivate the next generation

Mock Interviews

For many Y.O.U. students, the prospect of meeting a potential employer for the first time can produce anxiety. To help prepare teens for this experience, Y.O.U. conducts mock interviews. These mock interviews give our teens the confidence they need to engage their first real interview successfully.

Volunteer Interviewers:

• Review student resumes
• Ask questions regarding professional experience and job readiness
• Provide feedback on students' performance

This opportunity allows volunteers to interact one-on-one with Y.O.U. teens and directly contribute to their success in interviewing — and perhaps landing a job!
Time involved: 2 hours, plus 20-minute orientation.

Resume Building Project

Many Y.O.U. students come to us without a resume—a critical piece that students must develop for their interviews as they pursue jobs. Y.O.U. utilizes a special software program that helps students generate their first resumes.
Volunteers motivate and guide students through the resume software process. At the end of this process, an attractive, professional resume emerges from the printer.
Resumes reveal a student's qualifications and accomplishments in a way that many Y.O.U. teens have never seen before. It is an empowering experience for the teen, and a meaningful experience for the volunteer.
Time involved: 90-minute orientation to computer software; 2 hours per resume-building session.

E CITY Business Plan Coach

Business Plan Coaches provide one-on-one mentoring to E CITY students as they turn class lessons into their own small business concept/venture. Students will subsequently present a finished business plan to a panel of judges for the opportunity to win seed money for their small business venture.

Business Plan Coaches:

• Review and enhance student business plans
• Shore up students' math and language
• Provide feedback on students' presentation style and performance

Business Plan Coaches have the opportunity to guide teens one-on-one, and to prepare them for the world of business and entrepreneurship.
Time involved: 5-7 hours for 1 week of class, plus 20-minute orientation before Day 1. Individuals with business acumen preferred.

E CITY Business Plan Competition Judge

Judges help evaluate E CITY student business plan presentations. After each presentation, judges confer and give the student critical feedback on business ideas and presentation skills. Judges also select three winners and award them seed money for their small business venture startup.
Time involved: 2-3 hours, plus 20-minute orientation.

More Opportunities

• Communications/Marketing: Media Relations, Photography, Graphic Design, Video Production, Social Media
• Special Events: Planning, Registration, Auctions, Set-up/Clean-up, Decoration
• Administrative Support: Mailings, Fundraising, Grant Writing, Technology Services, Data Entry
• Legal Services
• Field Trip Chaperones
• Committee Membership

By volunteering with Y.O.U., you can make a valuable difference in the lives of our teens. Join us! Contact Lori Peterson at lpeterson@youthopportunities.org or (216) 566-5445 ext. 253.

http://www.youthopportunities.org/volunteer.aspx