It was the fall of 1982 and forecasters predicted the summer of 1983 was going to be a hot one. Mayor George Voinovich saw a problem. How was the city going to keep teens occupied, off the streets and safe during those long, hot months? The answer: get them to work.

Mayor Voinovich convened Cleveland Tomorrow, an association of the region’s largest corporations, to solve the problem of funding summer jobs for teenagers. What came out of their deliberations would be one of Cleveland’s first public-private partnerships, a hallmark of Voinovich’s leadership legacy: Youth Opportunities Unlimited.

Several companies, along with the Cleveland Foundation, came together to fund that first summer. Huntington National Bank President Robert Van Auken, first board chair of Y.O.U., and its executive director Carol DiLillo-Kenney sat in Van Auken’s living room and matched 1,000 youths with employers.

Today, the Summer Youth Employment Program has grown to serve 2,000-3,000 youths each year throughout Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. In addition to a paid experience, youths are paired with a job coach to remove barriers and ensure successful completion up to a year after their work experience.

A 2021 study from Case Western Reserve University shows that youths in Y.O.U.’s program are more likely to attend school, have much higher high school graduation rates and are less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system, especially in violent crime.

Mayor Voinovich’s commitment to solving a problem has provided generations of Clevelanders with opportunities and a path to economic self-sufficiency.