Here's
an instructive story. Recently a group of businesspeople from around
the USA decided to see if there was a way they could help urban youth to
become gainfully employed. To get them off the streets. They decided
to create entry level positions in their company, 10 positions each at
$10 per hour full time work. Transportation provided. It was manual
labor. It was going to be real work.
It was called the 10 10 10 10 program. Ten employers, ten urban areas
across the country, ten jobs per company and ten dollars per hour full
time work 40 hours a week.
It was going to be a program that if they could get it to work they would sell the idea to medium sized employers across the nation. Doing well by doing good they thought.
Instead of posting it on job boards the went right into the city and found groups of men standing around, hanging our or playing basketball in the park. They looked for groups of at least 10 between the ages of 18-35. Then they approached the group and made the offer. Men only. Had to be able bodied (which these were). Prison and felony didn't matter. This was a program to begin to help the urban youth.
Would anyone like to guess what the response was? When one man asked a group of about 40 men after making his pitch.. how many hands went up? Anyone venture a guess? You already know the answer. Until the culture of defeat is changed, nothing will change. After 2 months of trying the whole project was abandoned for lack of interest by the target audience; Getting men off the street with a job. I no longer believe this is how to do it. We must change the perceptions that urban people (white and black) have of working. People must learn the joy of labor.
It was going to be a program that if they could get it to work they would sell the idea to medium sized employers across the nation. Doing well by doing good they thought.
Instead of posting it on job boards the went right into the city and found groups of men standing around, hanging our or playing basketball in the park. They looked for groups of at least 10 between the ages of 18-35. Then they approached the group and made the offer. Men only. Had to be able bodied (which these were). Prison and felony didn't matter. This was a program to begin to help the urban youth.
Would anyone like to guess what the response was? When one man asked a group of about 40 men after making his pitch.. how many hands went up? Anyone venture a guess? You already know the answer. Until the culture of defeat is changed, nothing will change. After 2 months of trying the whole project was abandoned for lack of interest by the target audience; Getting men off the street with a job. I no longer believe this is how to do it. We must change the perceptions that urban people (white and black) have of working. People must learn the joy of labor.
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