The Quicken Loans Family of Companies and Urban Alliance (UA), a national youth development nonprofit organization, are bringing UA’s flagship youth employment program to Detroit, with financial support from the Quicken Loans Community Fund (QLCF). The Quicken Loans Family of Companies will be the program’s anchor employer in the city, where the company is headquartered, hosting 30 interns annually over the next two years.
UA’s High School Internship Program (HSIP) will help expand opportunity for students from underserved communities through professional development and meaningful work experience in students’ senior year of high school. Beginning with a pilot group of 40 students from Breithaupt Career and Technical Center, Osborn High School and Randolph Career and Technical Center during the 2018-19 school year, UA will provide Detroit students with:
- A 10-month paid, professional internship (part-time during the school year and full-time during the summer)
- Intensive job and life skills training (seven weeks of pre-employment training followed by 10 months of weekly skill-building workshops)
- One-on-one mentoring from an adult professional
- Post-high school planning assistance
- Lifelong college and career support
Urban Alliance is expected to expand to additional schools, serving more than 250 students over the next four years. The program’s goal is to open the door to new possibilities for Detroit students, and ensure that every intern is on a pathway to self-sufficiency—whether that be college, living-wage employment or vocational training—after graduating high school.
“Investing in our future workforce—and Detroit students—is important from both a business and philanthropic standpoint at the Quicken Loans Family of Companies,” says Bill Emerson, vice chairman of the QLCF. “Youth employment strategies strengthen our business and city. At Quicken Loans and our family of companies, we are committed to introducing young people to multiple opportunities and experiences which will ultimately shape their life goals, grow their options and help prepare them to become Detroit’s future leaders.”
“At Urban Alliance, we believe that it truly takes a village to build brighter futures for our youth, so we are honored to be joining the Detroit community and helping to expand economic opportunities for young people in the city,” says Eshauna Smith, CEO of UA. “Our primary goal is always to provide meaningful youth employment opportunities for as many young people who need them as possible, and the local support we’ve received—particularly from our anchor employer Quicken Loans Family of Companies—helps us reach that goal. We look forward to working with the entire community to open more doors for the talented young people of this city.”
UA’s longtime partner Bank of America will also host an additional five interns per year, with another five interns per year placed at local nonprofits.
Through its ‘for-more-than-profit model’, QLCF brings together for-profit and non-profit investments in order to maximize its impact on Detroit. The Quicken Loans Family of Companies is the largest employer in Detroit, and QLCF is dedicated to creating robust job training and education opportunities that will lead to real jobs in IT, construction and customer service. QLCF is also deeply invested alongside Detroit Public Schools Community District and numerous community partners in order to build meaningful mentorship experiences, career technical education opportunities and on-the-job-training.
QLCF has previously engaged two of the three schools that Urban Alliance is partnering with. Earlier this year, QLCF committed $1 million to Detroit high school Breithaupt Career and Technical Center to improve infrastructure, expand programming and boost enrollment. In addition, last year, QLCF joined the Mayor’s office to also revitalize Randolph Career and Technical Center.
For more information, please visit www.quickenloans.org.
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