The Voice of Your Customer, a certified minority owned marketing firm located in the Walnut Hills, participated in Mayor Mallory’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). The program is designed to give 400 income eligible youth in Cincinnati ages 14-18 an entry level job with community-based organizations, government agencies, corporations, law firms, health care facilities, and small businesses. Students worked 15 hours per week for eight consecutive weeks beginning on June 15. Participants were asked to provide students with meaningful work experiences, mentoring, and a safe environment.
Crystal L. Kendrick, President of The Voice of Your Customer stated, “Marketing, advertising, and public relations lack the breadth and depth of diversity enjoyed by other industries. In addition to assisting many African American and Hispanic students to identify scholarships for college, we wanted to participate in the employment program so that we could offer practical business experiences to income eligible youth as well.”
The Voice of Your Customer welcomed 17 year -old Morgan Williams as an intern this summer based on her desire to be in a business atmosphere. Morgan is a student in the Cincinnati Public Schools and is a senior at Shroder High School. She resides in the neighborhood of Roselawn with her parents and two younger sisters. As an intern, Morgan supported direct mail initiatives, email blasts, social media updates, and an office move. She also attended several sales trainings, business meetings, and awards luncheons.
Morgan Williams stated, “I am glad that I had the opportunity to work at The Voice of Your Customer this summer. I learned a lot about marketing, customer service, and being a small business owner.”
Morgan will transition from the SYEP program to a part-time employee of The Voice of Your Customer and will be trained as a secret shopper and customer service representative.
About Teen Unemployment
According to the Employment Policies Institute (EPI), teen unemployment rates may increase because high minimum wage rates price teens out of jobs and/or employers are unable to afford to hire unskilled and inexperienced workers when the minimum wage increases. Department of Labor 2009 statistics indicate that teen unemployment is three times the national unemployment rate and economic studies have found that minority teens are most negatively affected by high minimum wage rates and the resulting unemployment.
About the Cincinnati Summer Youth Employment Program
The City of Cincinnati awarded stewardship of the 2009 Summer Youth Employment Program to the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency (CAA). To place the students, CAA helped each youth outline personal career ambitions and the steps necessary to achieve them. In addition to giving the students employment that pays $7.30 an hour, CAA administered a series of weekly trainings on topics such as: interviewing, creating a resume, developing interpersonal skills, and financial management.
About The Voice of Your Customer
The Voice of Your Customer assists clients to penetrate niche markets using survey research, focus groups, secret shopping, business training, and media campaigns. Located in a federally qualified HUBZone in Cincinnati, Ohio, The Voice of Your Customer holds the following certifications: 8(A), MBE, WBE, SBE and DBE. For more information, call (513) 281-3228, visit www.thevoiceofyourcustomer.com, or email info@thevoiceofyourcustomer.com.
Crystal (and team),
Thanks for your great work with our community of children.
It reinforces my belief that we have all the resources to improve the quality of learning and living for our younger generation if we simply, strategically, creatively and actively apply them.
Again, my gratitude for being a part of the progress.
R. Lee Gordon
http://www.nbtee.org
http://www.uniteedesign.com
http://www.betterdetroityouth.org