Mayor’s Youth Workforce & Career Training 2020 Participant Lesly Yax.
TRENTON, NJ (June 7, 2021) Millhill Child & Family Development recently received a grant from TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank America’s Most Convenient Bank®. The grant will support the Youth Workforce & Career Training Program (YWCT), one of Millhill’s annual summer youth programs.
“We are grateful for TD Charitable Foundation’s continued support of our Youth Engagement programming. At Millhill, we work with Trenton youth to develop the critical skills needed to succeed in higher education and the workplace. YWCT features guest speakers, self-paced learning, and career exploration in live Zoom sessions and other creative ways that appeals to Trenton youth. We are so excited to offer this dynamic, virtual training program for the second year in a row,” explains Director of Youth Services, Michelle Thompkins.
Millhill’s Youth Workforce & Career Training Program offers virtual leadership development training to Trenton youth who come from resource-challenged neighborhoods with the highest levels of poverty and violence. The summer program runs for six weeks and features soft skills training, guest speakers, career presentations, self-led learning, journaling, and personalized coaching. This approach ensures that youth have an opportunity to build on critical communication, teamwork, goal setting, and leadership skills all while safely social distancing.
YWCT participant, Lesly Yax, attended the program in the summer of 2020, and when surveyed about her experience she explained that, “The Youth Workforce and Career Training Program is an excellent source of education… I learned a lot and had fun at the same time.” Lesly elaborated that, “I learned the importance of being a good team member, the importance of networking, communication, and self-confidence.”
The program on which YWCT is based, the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, provided entry level summer employment for four consecutive years to 365 youth with the goal of helping youth establish a productive work history, develop critical soft skills, and influence their desire and ability to be successful in the future. YWCT builds on these skill development techniques by connecting youth with weekly guest speakers, which in the past has included Certified Professional Coach Tamarra Causley Robinson, Trenton Public Schools Superintendent Ronald Lee, Trenton firefighter Eric Johnson, and more.
The YWCT program along with two additional youth summer programs, STEM Explorers for middle school children and Youth Council for youth activists in high school or college, are all open for registration. You can learn more about these free programs and apply today at www.millhillcenter.org/youth-summer-programs/.
Millhill Child & Family Development Corporation
Millhill Child & Family Development is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping children, youth, and families in Greater Trenton through education, counseling, family support services, youth engagement, and community collaborations. Founded in 1971, Millhill serves more than 6,500 individuals in the community with the help of dedicated staff, volunteers and financial contributors. Millhill empowers lives using an approach that is both individualized and collaborative taking into account the dynamics of the whole family. Services are offered at 101 Oakland Street and 802 Prospect Street in Trenton, NJ. For more information about our programs, please visit www.www.millhillcenter.org or on Facebook at facebook.com/millhillchildandfamily.
TD Charitable Foundation
The TD Charitable Foundation is the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, one of the 10 largest commercial banking organizations in the United States. Since its inception in 2002, the Foundation has distributed over $200 million and more than 19,400 grants through donations to local nonprofits from Maine to Florida. More information on the TD Charitable Foundation, including the online grant application, is available at TDBank.com
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