WICHITA, KS - Bank of America awarded the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas (WA) two grants for youth development initiatives in 2021.
For the fifth consecutive year, Bank of America is supporting the WA’s Youth Employment Project (YEP), to assist young adults in finding a first job or work experience opportunity, with a $45,000 grant. Services to young adults through the YEP include assistance in resume creation, job search, preparing for interviews as well as education in soft skills, customer service and money management. For many years, Bank of America has worked with nonprofit partners, elected officials, business and civic leaders, and others across Wichita to help drive economic opportunity and upward mobility.
The WA has been involved in promoting young adult employment and work experience opportunities for at-risk young adults since 2009. In 2019, a formal youth employment network was established, called Helping Youth Prepare for Employment (HYPE). HYPE is a collaboration of community partners including the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas, the City of Wichita, the Greater Wichita YMCA, Wichita State University, USD 259 and other school districts throughout south central Kansas. These partners all have well-established youth employment programs and are working together to achieve significant community impact, with a goal of 1,000 teens gaining employment over the summer of 2021.
The second grant presented to the Workforce Alliance by Bank of America is the placement of two students for an eight-week internship through the Student Leader Program. The Student Leader Program is a nationwide Bank of America initiative which places high school juniors or seniors with a local nonprofit organization to learn first-hand about the needs of the community and the critical role nonprofits play. In addition, Student Leaders learn valuable civic, social and business leadership skills. Each Student Leader is also given the opportunity to attend the Student Leaders Summit held virtually in 2021 with partners in Washington, D.C. to learn how government, business and the nonprofit sector work together to address critical community needs.
2021 marks the third summer the Student Leader program has been available in the Wichita market. Through a rigorous and highly competitive process, Aditya Joshi and Aviyah Pepperstone were selected as the 2021 Wichita Market Bank of America Summer Leaders. Aditya is a 2021 graduate from Wichita East High School and will attend UC Berkeley in the fall, majoring in Economics and Business Management. Aviyah is an incoming senior at Wichita East High School. Both Student Leaders began their internships with the Workforce Alliance on June 7, 2021.