Exciting news from our C.E.O.

C.E.O. Ninive Calegari and founder Glady Thacher celebrating at our recent alumni party.

Dear Enterprise Community,

Ashley Sosa-Cativo and Jeffrey Gao pulled out laptops from their new jobs at Stitch Fix to gleefully show us their names on the registration stickers.

This summer two hundred and sixty-five (265!!!!) young people have walked into new jobs in San Francisco, Walnut Creek and Redwood City. Enterprise youth are filled with excitement about their work?they come into our office every evening bursting with stories about their projects, their colleagues, and even the intricacies of the elevator policies. They tell us all about what it’s like behind the scenes at The Gap, City Hall, law firms, Mother Jones, and a local chocolate factory or two. Our youth are already observing surgeries, staging homes under the guidance of designers, or becoming their office’s newest tech guru. They smile proudly at their new responsibilities. In the next few weeks, we’ll watch them as they build their confidence and embrace their newfound roles.

They have the support of caring and trained adults?and those in tech, health, and architecture are receiving credit from City College. During their weekly check-ins, they share stories, troubleshoot issues, and bond with other youth from a wide range of schools and backgrounds. This week they’ll begin preparing group presentations for their graduation at the end of the summer.

The undivided attention that students receive is what sets Enterprise apart.

I am watching all of this: seeing what an impact this program has on our participants, marveling at the kindness and generosity of our internship hosts, and the volunteer mentors who cheer on our youth.?It’s a complete joy.

We are so grateful to the businesses who have always been with us, and who keep on doing more and more to help our young people build their own bright futures. First Republic, Gap Inc., Kaiser, and San Francisco Recreation and Park have been among our most loyal allies in securing the future of work for San Francisco’s next generation. This year, we’ve also been incredibly lucky to bring on some terrific new partners, including 826 Valencia, City Arts & Lectures, Close Concerns, Electronic Arts (EA), Jonathan Rachman Design, Latino Community Foundation, and Stitch Fix.

It’s amazing to think about the huge number of collaborators it takes to pull this together. And it’s also so inspiring to see what a difference it makes?we know these placements can be life-changing experiences, and it’s so thrilling to see the youth mature and change right in front of our eyes.

Daniela Velazquez, Chris Rubeo, and Nancy Gots join Glady and Ninive at the alumni party.

As Enterprise’s 50th anniversary approaches, we’d love to talk to you about getting involved. We’re always looking for new internship hosts, program sponsors, donors and volunteer mentors here at Enterprise HQ. The future of work in our fair city has yet to be written, but we know that the best preparation we can offer our youth is real, hands-on experience at the forefront of local business. I’m honored to be doing all we can to support them?and I hope you’ll join us, too. Please consider donating today or email us so we can find the best way to get you involved.

Yours warmly,

 

 

 

 

 

Ninive Calegari
C.E.O., Enterprise for Youth

 

 

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