Mayor’s 100 Campaign Works to Increase Grand Rapids’ Youth Employment [Video]

The Mayor's 100 Campaign is under way, with its goal to increase employment among Grand Rapids' youth.

A big part of the effort is the Leadership and Employment, Achievement and Direction (LEAD) pre-employment training program, which seeks to increase meaningful employment among 15- to 24-year-olds in Grand Rapids. After training is completed, participants are eligible for employment with a Mayor's 100 Campaign business.

Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell and Our Community's Children Executive Director Lynn Heemstra are detailing the plans for increasing youth employment in Grand Rapids through the Mayor’s 100 Campaign.

The campaign has a kick-off reception 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. EST tonight at Rockford Construction, 601 First Street, NW in Grand Rapids. in Grand Rapids.

100.5 The River's Andy Rent spoke with Heemstra and Shannon Harris, Our Community’s Children program director, on "Andy in the Morning" Thursday morning about the effort.

Our Community's Children is partnering with the City of Grand Rapids to facilitate the campaign, which has as its goal to increase employment for Grand Rapids youth.

The Mayor’s 100 Campaign, which is an expansion of the Mayor’s 50 Campaign, is looking to double the number of local employers -- particularly those in sciences, technology, engineering, math and environmental fields -- willing to offer young people meaningful employment opportunities.

Eligible applicants must live in Grand Rapids and complete the LEAD pre-employment training are eligible for a Mayor’s 100 employment experience.

The training takes place June 8 to 24, and applicants must be 15 to 24 years old, living in the Grand Rapids city limits; and attending high school with at least a 2.0 grade-point average, being a high school graduate or enrolled in a college or GED program.

Mayor’s 100 local business includes companies that specialize in web development, marketing, graphic design, customer service, investment management, engineering and more.

Our Community’s Children is a public-private partnership between the City of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Public Schools and community partners and manages the Mayor’s 100 Campaign and the LEAD Program.