As the summer comes to a close, the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce would like to thank the local organizations, foundations and businesses that have contributed a total of $132,500 to support both TeenQuest and the Summer Youth Initiative (SYI).
TeenQuest is a free, afterschool program available to all Genesee County high school students, ages 14-19. After graduating from the five-week, pre-employment training program, students may apply for SYI, which matches hundreds of TeenQuest graduates with area employers each summer.
“Thanks to the support of our donors, TeenQuest has provided free training to nearly 7,000 area students over the years – thousands of whom have gone on to secure summer jobs through SYI,” said Rhetta Hunyady, Vice President of Education and Training, Flint & Genesee Chamber. “Together, we’re helping ensure that our local youth have an advantage as they move forward through school and into their careers.”
In addition to the generous support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, which awarded SYI with $825,000 earlier this year, and the Michigan DNR, which awarded $200,000 to the Summer Youth Employment Program, other recent benefactors of the youth programs include:
- Ruth Mott Foundation: $75,000 (TeenQuest/SYI)
- Community Foundation of Greater Flint: $24,500 (TeenQuest/SYI)
- United Way of Genesee County: $15,000 (TeenQuest)
- Child Welfare Society: $5,000 (SYI)
- Genisys Credit Union: $5,000 (TeenQuest/SYI)
- Loeb Charitable Trust: $5,000 (SYI)
- Zonta Club of Flint: $1,000 (TeenQuest/SYI)
- Walmart on Corunna Road: $1,000 (TeenQuest/SYI)
- Walmart in Burton: $500 (TeenQuest/SYI)
- Walmart in Clio: $250 (TeenQuest/SYI)
- Walmart in Grand Blanc: $250 (TeenQuest/SYI)
To learn more about the programs, administered by the Genesee Area Focus Fund, a supporting organization of the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, visit www.flintandgenesee.org/learn/syi/.