March is ‘Stay Paid’ Month at First Place for Youth where we acknowledge all of our young people’s efforts in gaining, retaining, and growing in their employment journeys throughout the state of CA. Did you know? During calendar year 2023, young adults in My First Place earned a total of $2.4 Million – that’s about $18,194 per young adult! 

Throughout March, our youth are awarded raffle tickets based on their employment achievements, with weekly prizes to encourage youth to develop their organizational skills and enhance their employability and financial literacy. Across various counties, we’ve been actively engaged in empowering our youth through a series of workshops and events. Read more about the employment activities and workshops we’ve been holding below:

Alameda County
The Oakland team hosted a Career Exploration Fair (pictured above) for youth in My First Place™ and Rising Up programs to discover and potentially pursue earn and learn opportunities and career pathways aligned with their interest. CalTrans, YMCA Early Educator Apprenticeship, Catalyst for Wellness Behavioral Health, Homebridge, Youth Employment Partnership, and CiviCorps were present. One youth expressed that the event was meaningful and well worth her time. 

Los Angeles County
In LA County, our team hosted in-person resume and cover letter support workshops at our offices where youth received direct support refreshing their resume and applying for jobs (pictured above). Before the month ends, our LA team will be having a virtual “Level Up” workshop where we will be discussing skills to help youth make more money and various topics will including: industry wages, getting hired, networking, asking for a raise, etc. 

Santa Clara County
Our staff in San Jose hosted a ‘What are Employers Looking For’ workshop (pictured above) where young people joined in an insightful discussion on what employers are seeking in today’s competitive job market and how they can work with their team to increase their employability through essential skills development.

Solano/Contra Costa Counties
In Solano, our team will be hosting a Resume & Cover Letter workshop on March 27th to support individuals in learning best practices in transforming their resumes to be more attractive to employers, as well as learning how a well-written cover letter can accompany their resume.

Thank you to all the staff who have worked hard to put together these workshops which greatly benefit the youth in their journey towards self-sufficiency and success. Stay tuned for more updates and activities across California!

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