The Proviso Township Ministerial Alliance Network (PTMAN) has never waited for the government to address needs in their west suburban communities. They call on church people to step into the breach and do the work that needs to be done with partners right in the neighborhood.
In 2016, PTMAN members noticed that many young people had nothing to do in the summer and had no vision for themselves in terms of becoming entrepreneurs and business owners. True to form, they created the Summer Jobs Initiative, aka 4x4x4.
“The Summer Jobs Initiative,” explains the PTMAN website, “is designed to keep our youth active while helping them to develop a good work ethic, enhance their skills for future employment aspirations, and acquire money management skills.”
The format is 4x4x4: four hours a day, four days a week, for four weeks in the summer. Local businesses and entities like Forest Park Bank, Bellwood Library, Proviso Township, Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch, True Value Hardware in Broadview, and Pattie Marcus Wright DDS in Forest Park have provided internships.
Pastor Albert Johnson who directs the program reports that 200 young people have participated in the Summer Jobs Initiative — together with another business experience, an annual car wash.
Lorrenso Webber is the director of Youth Services and has had interns in the program for five years, so 4x4x4 is right up his alley. To illustrate the effectiveness of the program he told the story of two young ladies he supervised several years ago.
“When they came in,” he recalled, “they were really shy but they took to the program right away. I watched them grow from being not so sure of themselves to being able to work in an office setting and to deliver a very professional presentation at the end of their internship.”
Business people who have supervised interns in the past report that they get as much out of the program as their interns do. “When I see these kids coming in to work,” said Webber, “I feel good. Often we talk about kids sitting at home on the phone all day playing games. These kids are coming in to work. I see them getting exposure they otherwise wouldn’t have. I see them developing leadership skills, and they begin to see the possibility of what they might do in their future.”
There are three ways to get involved in the PTMAN Summer Youth 4x4x4 Program:
1. Supervise an intern for four weeks. Businesses and organizations which have included young people in their everyday business operation include the Bellwood Library, the Proviso Township offices in Hillside, Speaker Welch’s political office, Forest Park Bank, and True Value Hardware store in Broadview. Supervising interns does not obligate the business owner to pay them, and one size does not fit all interns. Working out the young person’s job responsibilities happens between each supervisor and the intern.
2. Support interns financially. Student interns earn a total of $512 during the four-week program or $128/week. Some business owners and/or community residents choose to fund the program while not taking an intern.
3. Do both — include an intern in your organization for four weeks and pay them $128/week.
Rev. Albert Johnson, who directs the program, noted that for some of these young people the Summer Program is the first time in their lives that have held a paycheck in their hands.
Contact Rev. Johnson at 708-397-6944 or via www.ptman.org with questions or if you are interested in sponsoring an intern this summer, paying for one week at $128 or the whole program at $512 or doing both.