1. Level-UP! Mentoring and Workforce Development Program 2015 Summer Internship

2. Who We Are Our Vision That every child have a positive role model leading him/her to make good choices resulting in a healthy, rewarding life. Our Mission To provide access to positive role models and learning experiences to children who lack these resources. Big Buddy Program

3. Who We Are The Big Buddy Program provides consistent asset- based programs for youth ages 5-18 that focus on building resiliency against major threats to the economic development of our community – poverty, crime and academic failure. Big Buddy has been serving children and youth in the Baton Rouge community for 34 years. We are a proud local organization that has grown to serve over 500 children and youth on a weekly basis.

4. Who We Are Level-UP! provides a creative, dynamic, safe forum for high school youth to develop life and workforce skills. Programs meet specific academic needs, enhance experience in the workforce through Internships and pair youth with WorkPlace Mentors to guide them through the creation of a successful plan for life after graduation.

5. Think Back… Do you remember your first hard earned dollar? What made that opportunity possible? What made that opportunity memorable? What could have made the experience better?

6. Level-UP! Summer Internship The Level-UP! Summer Internship is funded through the Office of Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden for the third straight year. The 8-week internship program is eligible to high school teens that are currently enrolled in 9th to 12th grade. The program aims to provide Scholars with internship experiences, connect them to positive role models who would serve as their Workplace Mentor, and facilitate and help implement skills to help excel in school, everyday life, workforce readiness, and their future careers

7. Value for You? “Do not hire a man (or woman) who does your work for money, but one who does it for the love of it” –Henry David Thoreau Scholars will have a deep appreciation for you AND your company.

8. Value for You? A Smart Investment 20 hours/week for 8 weeks… ALL FREE! Sponsored by the Office of Mayor-President “Kip” Holden Assuming minimum wage only, you could save $145/week or $1160 over a 2 month period We cover insurance

9. Value for You? A Smart Investment 63% of business decision makers and 68% of corporate recruiters say that it’s difficult to manage millennials 66% of millennials believe that older generations don’t understand them. By 2025, millennials will make up 75% of the workforce. http://www.forbes.com/sites/robasghar/2014/01/29/study-millennials-work-ethic-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/

10. Value for You? A Smart Investment 87% of businesses think they need to work with higher education to improve career services. The time is NOW? Expose your company to the future of the workforce in a way that is mutually beneficial. https://www.bentley.edu/files/prepared/1.29.2013_BentleyU_Whitepaper_Shareable.pdf

11. Value for You? Exposure & Networking Exposure on Level-UP! website and social media platforms Over 75 local businesses & organizations across the community Our goal is to be Baton Rouge’s center job readiness for youth and we won’t stop until we get there!

12. So What’s The Catch? There is no catch! It’s making a difference made easy! Here’s what we ask: –Become a Host Site for 8 weeks this summer –Become a Sponsor to help build sustainability –1-on-1 Mentoring at the workplace –Attend 2 luncheons and 2 trainings –Weekly communication with us

13. The Proof Is Here 98.2% of WorkPlace Mentors would participate again 100% of WorkPlace Mentors would recommend the program to another adult It’s not very often you find such high satisfaction in programs involving teens!

14. A Mentor’s Value More than 43% of underserved youth report they never had an adult Mentor of any kind 76% of at risk youth with a Mentor aspire to enroll and graduate college. Those without? Only 56% Even worse, there’s a 6% difference in unemployment and an average of 72% more income for those that graduate high school http://www.mentoring.org/images/uploads/Report_TheMentoringEffect.pdf

15. The Proof Is Here Some open-ended responses from WorkPlace Mentors: –Placing high achieving students into a professional workplace for real life skills is an EXCELLENT idea! –The program provides an opportunity for youth to develop work skills and strong work ethics that will help them prepare for the workforce. –The students were prepared for the workplace. Great attitudes and a purpose and goal in mind. –Mentorship is valuable and much needed in our community. This generation has become stagnant because of a lack of knowledge. Imparting knowledge in our youth will break the cycle of the poverty, desperation, and fear. The more you know the further you go!

16. Your Impact This one-of-a-kind experience will be forever memorable for the Scholars and YOU! Everything is new for the Intern, which offers a fresh perspective for a company. (It’s awesome!) It’s incredibly rewarding! Be someone who matters to someone who matters!

18. Together we’ll accomplish marvelous things! Visit www.levelupbr.org and sign up TODAY!