Published May 19, 2018 on MorganHillLife.com
Want to help some foster teens get a footing into the work world? Tom Fandre, senior business development manager at TeenForce, has an offer for a Morgan Hill business or two to find employment for young people who have faced hardships growing up.
“I’m writing to ask for some help finding our final two South County internship hosts for two great 17 year old boys we’re working with,” he told us in an email. “We’ve successfully found internships for 12 other foster youth we’ve trained but are two shy.”
These young men have graduated from 70 hours of STEM and professional development training in Gilroy. They aspire to earn degrees in criminal justice (and ultimately become Secret Service Agents). They have great dispositions and with continued support and experience will definitely go far.
They’re looking for a small, medium or large company that wishes to help an underserved youth and the community as a whole. Typical internship duties include light clerical, filing, data entry, phones, customer service and ideally shadowing different departments. The bookend dates are mid-June to mid-August (150 hours is the typical internship length).
“We bill the internships at $18 per hour so a full internship of 150 hours would cost $2,700,” Fandre said. “The youth get minimum wage and the rest goes to taxes and insurance (with a little portion coming back to our non-profit). We’re the employer of record for the interns and handle background checks, payroll, admin and case management (mentoring and supporting throughout, checking in regularly with the youth and supervisors).
About 50 percent of foster youth drop out of high school and only 3 percent earn a college degree. They also earn less than half what their non-foster peers do by age 25. This program really makes a world of difference in helping the youth get the experience and skills they need to thrive.
If you have a job position for the two young men, please contact Fandre at (408) 509-7298 or email him at [email protected].
