What follows is the first installment of a new occasional series I’m calling “West of the River.” The Review prides itself on being all local all the time. We share with villages west of the Des Plaines River: Proviso East High School, Loyola and Gottlieb hospitals, Proviso Township offices, state and federal representatives, Triton College, the Maybrook Courthouse, and the Cook County Forest Preserves. What happens west of the Des Plaines River is local.
Safe Summer Program 4+4+4
“Idle hands,” they say, “are the devil’s workshop.”
Back in 2016, ministers in the Proviso Township Ministerial Alliance Network (PTMAN) were concerned that many youth in Proviso Township between the ages of 13 and 17 were “sitting at home on the phone all day, playing video games” during their summer vacation, wasting opportunities to learn and grow and, in the worst-case scenario, getting in trouble.
“The Summer Jobs Initiative,” explains the program’s 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.”
So 10 years ago, Bishop Reginald Saffo PhD, PTMAN’s chairman, appointed Rev. Albert Johnson MB to put together the Safe Summer Program to get youth off the streets, give them experiences in the real world of work while rubbing elbows with professionals and entrepreneurs, and enabling them to catch a vision of someday owning their own business. The program is also known as 4+4+4, i.e. four weeks, four days a week, four hours each day.
Ten years later, Rev. John reported that 200 youth have completed the program, which is basically an internship.
Forest Park National Bank and Patti Marcus, DDS are the two Forest Park businesses that have hosted interns. A sample of other intern sites includes the Maywood Park District, AAA Rental in Melrose Park, Hildebrand Sporting Goods in Broadview, Urban Beautique in Maywood, the Bellwood Public Library, state Rep. Chris Welch’s office in Hillside and the Proviso Township Office.
Rev. Lorenzo Webber, youth director of Proviso Township, gave a positive report regarding his five-year-long experience with interns:
“The triple-four program is an opportunity to provide early employment experience like career training to young people and we’re very pleased with the program. It exposes kids to a career experience at a very early age and young people get unfettered access to job skills training. They see what it’s like to emerge into today’s work force.
“One of our first opportunities was to host two young ladies who were shy, but they really took to the program. I watched them grow from not being so sure of themselves and kind of withdrawn to being able to deliver a presentation on their future. They had learned how to work in an office setting, and at the end of the program they were able to give a very professional presentation on their elevator speeches.
“It’s an incredible program, and you feel good doing it. When I see those kids coming in to work, it gives me the feeling that I am really giving them exposure to what they otherwise wouldn’t have. They are getting exposed to how their parents make money. They develop leadership skills and are exposed to the possibility of what they might want to do in their future.”
Rev. Johnson noted that for some of these young people this program is the first time in their lives they have held a payroll check in their hands.
“It’s humbling to do this,” he said.
There are two ways to get involved. One is to host an intern for four weeks, and the other is to fund an intern at $128/week or $512 for the entire four weeks. Some businesses do both.
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.
Bishop Saffo praised Johnson’s work, saying, “Pastor Johnson has given meaningful leadership to this program over the last 10 years. Because of his leadership, many of our youth have been given the opportunity to experience the worlds of employment (working for someone else) and entrepreneurship (working for self)!
“Moreover,” Saffo added, “we thank the sponsors from the churches and community for supporting the vision of the Triple 4 program.”
The website boasts, “PTMAN has never relied on the government to lift up a vision for the nation’s youth, but calls on church people to step into the breach and do the work.”
Triumph and Surge at Triton
The Triumph and Surge Program is a minority retention program, designed to increase the number of underrepresented students graduating from Triton College. This initiative provides academic support, one-on-one mentoring and coaching, career exploration and development, community service projects and assistance in transitioning to a four-year institution or into the workforce.