HOUSTON – March 27, 2017
Genesys Works, a program that changes the life trajectory of low-income high school seniors by providing them with meaningful work internships and critical college and career skills, announced today that it is actively seeking new partners to bring its proven career readiness programming into their communities.
Through investments from AT&T and other major supporters, Genesys Works intends to award planning grants of up to $50,000 each to four cities. The grants will go towards feasibility studies with a goal of launching new Genesys Works programs that will provide internship opportunities for youth from economically-challenged backgrounds.
The Genesys Works program starts with eight intensive weeks of training in technology and professional skills for rising high school seniors. Then, during their senior year, students are assigned to a year-long paid internship and participate in a college and career coaching program that prepares them for postsecondary success. The meaningful internships give students real-world experience in fields like information technology, finance, and business operations working at major corporations including AT&T, Accenture, JPMorgan Chase, and Salesforce.com.
Currently, Genesys Works serves students in five locations, including Chicago, Houston, Minneapolis/St. Paul, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Washington’s National Capital Region.
“The business and education communities have come to realize the importance of work-based learning and year-long internships during high school as a powerful tool that connects our diverse student populations to the workforce pipeline our economy needs,” said Rafael Alvarez, CEO and Founder of Genesys Works. “With our increased expansion efforts, we will be able to support many more communities across the country by serving as the bridge between business and education, and thus providing thousands of students the opportunity to achieve career success and a lifetime of economic self-sufficiency.”
To date, 100 percent of students who participate in Genesys Works have graduated from high school and 93 percent have gone on to enroll in college. A recent social return on investment study (SROI) by Columbia University calculated a $13.46 economic return to society for every $1 invested in the Genesys Works program, a powerful testament to the value of its programming.
Genesys Works is inviting interested parties – including school districts, local chambers of commerce, foundations, and other civic and business organizations – to learn more and submit their interest for consideration as a new expansion city. Genesys Works will then follow up with plans for an evaluation of the community.
Interested parties should visit genesysworks.org/expansion for more information on this expansion initiative.
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About Genesys Works
Genesys Works is a non-profit social enterprise changing the trajectory of life for disadvantaged high school students through meaningful work experiences. Its program consists of eight weeks of technical and professional skills training, a paid year-long corporate internship, college and career coaching, and alumni support to and through college. Its goal is to move more students out of poverty and into professional careers, creating a more productive and diverse workforce in the process. Since its founding in 2002, Genesys Works has grown to serve nearly 3,000 students annually in Houston, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington’s National Capital Region. To learn more, visit genesysworks.org.
For more information, contact:
Name: Beth Parker
Phone: 202.772.6978
Email: bparker@voxglobal.com
