We will make it possible for young people to enter the work force better prepared through meaningful civic engagement in the community and in the Convention.

We aim to create opportunities for 1000 of our youth to be a part of the Convention. By engaging our youth in this historic event, we will give them the greatest civics lesson possible and help them build relevant skills for the future. Our goal for this program is to encourage leadership, youth activism, and civic awareness.

- On June 2nd at the EpiCentre, the Democratic National Convention Host Committee, along with Jones LaSalle and Generation Nation, sponsored a “Kids Convention.” It was a fun celebration and an opportunity to educate and inspire many of our city’s youth. During the event, kids cast ballots at mini voting machines, designed campaign buttons, tested their civic IQ against adults, and danced in confetti streams.

- We gave our youth an experience in the value and importance of giving back to the community with the Charlotte in 2012 Day of Service on August 4th. Hundreds of volunteers were dispersed around the city to learn about what they can make possible by volunteering in community projects.

- By expanding the Mayor’s Youth Employment Program (MYEP), we are giving youth the chance to explore careers and to learn about various jobs with a job shadow program. MYEP offers summer employment for youth between the ages of 16 and 18 and for those attending school in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The program also provides job readiness training, programs in financial literacy, and skills in customer service.

The Host Committee was also able to catalyze a new partnership between Microsoft and MYEP, including a tour of the Microsoft Campus and Microsoft’s sponsorship of five MYEP interns.
We informed the participating vendors in the DNC vendor directory about the opportunity to employ MYEP interns.
The Host Committee hosted an internship program that includes both MYEP and college interns.

A Legacy of Possibility - We Make It Possible!

The Mayor's Youth Employment Program Gives Students an Opportunity for Career Exploration

MYEP provides paid and unpaid internships for high school youth in the public, non-profit and private sectors. MYEP, students receive job mentoring, coaching and valuable hands-on experience with business partners like Microsoft. MYEP participants receive certificates of completion from the Mayor and a MYEP Skills Certification pin upon successful completion of all training.

RELEASE: KIDS CONVENTION 2012 Engages Charlotte’s Youth in the Convention and Promotes Mayor Foxx’s Youth Employment and Civic Education Legacy Program Initiative

The Charlotte in 2012 Convention Host Committee, GenerationNation, and the EpiCentre hosted a different kind of convention where in place of convention delegates, the children of Charlotte were in the spotlight. The event was a part of the Youth Employment and Civic Education initiative in Mayor Anthony Foxx’s convention legacy programs.

RELEASE: Charlotte in 2012 Holds Access to America Dialogue Series to Promote Convention Legacy Program of Building a Broader, More Inclusive Economy

Joining Mayor Foxx and Professor Ogletree in the conversation were several prominent local, state and national leaders in business and academia, including the National Urban League President Marc Morial; Founder of Packard Place in Charlotte Sara Garces; President of the NC Institute of Minority Economic Development Andrea Harris; and Dartmouth College Professor of Management Leonard Greenhalgh. The speakers discussed the importance of strengthening a sense of inclusion in Charlotte and all communities across America.

My Peek Behind the Scenes at DNC2012

On July 17th, 26 students from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System as well as the Charlotte in 2012 Host Committee’s five Mayor’s Youth Employment Program interns participated in the DNCC/Host Committee Shadow Day. The day started with introductions. Interns from the Host Committee and the DNCC discussed what it is like to be an intern, their majors in college and what the convention means to them. Mayor Anthony Foxx then spoke to us. He introduced the program and talked about what he wanted us to gain from it. After Mayor Foxx spoke, CEO of the DNCC Steve Kerrigan and Executive Director of the Host Committee Dan Murrey talked about how great it was that students were getting involved with this program.

A Day of Service: We Make It Possible!

Over 500 volunteers participated in a day of service held by The Charlotte in 2012 Convention Host Committee, the United Way of Central Carolinas’ Volunteer Center and other organizations. People from all over Charlotte as well as staff members from both the Charlotte in 2012 Host Committee and the Democratic National Convention Committee took part in a number of different projects.