Summer Youth@Work Deadline Extended

Gwendolyn Busch Williams has never forgotten how great it felt at 14 years old to receive her first paycheck at a summer cashier’s job.

So she is working hard to make sure as many New Haven teens as possible have the same experience.

These days Williams does that as city government’s director of youth of recreation. Her department oversees the summer Youth@Work program, which arranges for New Haven teens to work up to 30 hours a week at local employers between July 6 and July 30.

Williams has extended the deadline for teens to apply for the program to March 24. Click here to find out the details and print out forms to return to City Hall.

The city’s still waiting to find out precisely how much state money comes in to fund the program this summer. Because of the pandemic the city had to hustle to connect 150 teens to jobs last summer. Williams is hoping to at least double the number of teens working this year, or even place as many as 400.

“It’s so important for the young people right now to have a sense of normalcy” as well as some ​“money in their pockets,” she said Tuesday. ​“It’s not just adults who were hit by the pandemic.”

Tomi Veale, who administers the program for the city, added that especially in this pandemic year, teens need to ​“engage with positive adults in the community” in addition to those at home.

Sixty employers have offered to host teen workers this summer under the program. Although the deadline has technically passed, Veale said any employer looking to host teen workers can still contact her at [email protected].

Williams has been making pitches for Youth@Work for 13 years now. She has not lost her enthusiasm along the way. Click on the above video to watch her pitch the program at a 2008 fair.

That first summer job Williams held at 14 was behind the register at the former Edwards Food Warehouse in Orange.

“I thought I was so cool when I got my check,” she recalled. ​“I was so excited.”

She earned minimum wage. Back then it was $4.25 an hour. This year’s youth@workers will earn the hourly minimum wage as well — although that’s now $12.