Summer Jobs Connect Serving Miami’s Youth Launches 9th year

Published on June 13, 2022

The City of Miami has once again been awarded grant funding under the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) and the Citi Foundation’s Summer Jobs Connect Initiative to create paid summer jobs and offer financial education to Miami youth living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The City allocates funds to Overtown Youth Center (OYC) to expand the program reach and provide a path to economic self-sufficiency to Miami’s youth.

The Miami Summer Jobs Connect (SJC) program has been a success since its inception in 2014 employing 1,516 youth and resulting in 364,745 hours worked, $3.2 million paid in wages, 744 new bank accounts opened and savings of more than $630,000. SJC offers distinctive and unique experiences to 16 – 19 years old youth to earn money, gain valuable skills and understand how they should take care of their financial future. Since the beginning, Mayor Francis Suarez has been a strong supporter of SJC as the program provides meaningful employment opportunities to local youth while instructing and coaching them on credit and money management. “The Miami Summer Jobs Connect program fosters the entrepreneurial spirit of Miami’s youth through hands-on experiences no other book could replace. I am very pleased to see the program’s ongoing success as I know it means our youth will acquire the essential skills to ultimately become the next leaders of our community,” said Miami Mayor Suarez.

This year’s program will be back in-person providing hands-on experience, knowledge, and skills for the future. The financial literacy lessons are crucial to understanding the importance of work experience and financial literacy. These young entrepreneurs will be assigned to work in City departments, local agencies, and non-profit entities throughout Miami to ignite their entrepreneurial mindset and strengthen their financial skills to easily join the “future-ready workforce.”

With the continuous partnership and generous support of the Citi Foundation, Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, and Overtown Youth Center, the City of Miami has provided a sustainable pathway to prosperity for Miami’s youth by affording them the opportunity to see what the future holds in terms of financial stability, education, workforce, and the career skills needed to have long term success.