About 141 Flint & Genesee Students, Families to Celebrate during Ceremony
(FLINT, Mich., Feb. 9, 2015) – The Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce will host its TeenQuest program graduation for 141 Genesee County teens on Thursday, Feb. 12.
Hundreds of proud parents and other family members will gather with the Flint & Genesee students who successfully completed the latest TeenQuest session during a ceremony at 6 p.m. at Riverfront Banquet Center, 1 W. Riverfront Center, in downtown Flint.
Managed by the Flint & Genesee Chamber, TeenQuest is a five-week training program designed to help Flint & Genesee high school students ages 14-18 prepare for business success in the future. Students learn the basics of teamwork, business etiquette, work ethics, communication, goal setting and conflict resolution.
“The students who complete TeenQuest not only graduate prepared to work, but prepared to serve our community,” said Rhetta Hunyady, Vice President of Education and Training at the Flint & Genesee Chamber. “These teens learn how they impact others, discover their talents and walk out of here as role models to others. We’re not just training future employees, we’re creating future leaders in business, community and beyond.”
TeenQuest is a pre-requisite for employment through the Summer Youth Initiative (SYI), which matches employers with hundreds of TeenQuest graduates for summer employment.
The TeenQuest fall session that concludes this week is the third of four scheduled for the 2014-15 school year. The afterschool training was held at five area locations. A final session will be held Feb. 23-March 26.
Students attend the TeenQuest program two hours per day after school, Monday through Thursday, over the five-week period.
Nonprofit organizations and businesses that hire TeenQuest graduates are eligible to have 50 percent to 100 percent of costs subsidized. Last summer, more than 600 youths ages 14-18 were employed through SYI, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and some for-profit businesses.
For more information about TeenQuest, contact Hunyady at or (810) 600-1412.
About the Summer Youth Initiative and TeenQuest
The Summer Youth Initiative is a program that helps Flint-area teens find paid summer jobs. It’s open to students who’ve completed the TeenQuest afterschool program, which provides pre-employment and leadership training to students ages 14 to 19 to help them succeed in college and the 21st century workplace. In 2014, 630 teens gained experience and a paycheck working for 21 local businesses and agencies. Both programs are administered by the Genesee Area Focus Fund, a supporting organization of the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. To apply or learn more, visit www.flintandgenesee.org/teenquest.