Announcements from the Opportunity Summit
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Gathering 1,000 of the nation’s most dynamic, diverse and dedicated leaders all focused on tackling one of our country’s most pressing problems — the critical issue of youth employment — generates more than just passion and rhetoric.
The third National Opportunity Summit last week in Washington D.C. also sparked a wave of commitments from public, private and nonprofit sectors and youth advocates that will propel our shared call to action We Got This for months to come.
A few highlights so far:
- Expanding Internships: AT&T, as part of the AT&T Aspire Initiative,announced a $3 million grant to Genesys Works that will enable more high school students to experience meaningful year-long internships in businesses across the country.
- Increasing Skills: Walmart and the Walmart Foundation announced an initial investment of $16 million to seven national nonprofits serving 12,000 Americans as part of a $100 million commitment to increase the economic mobility of entry-level workers by addressing the skills gap.
- Activating Communities: More than three dozen nonprofit, government and philanthropic leaders whose programs operate in 100 cities across the country have pledged to collaborate more closely to make a greater impact and create stronger educational and career pathways for youth.
- Youth-led Actions: 100 Opportunity Leaders have pledged to promote, initiate and expand activities where they live that support the pillars of We Got This: Hire, Train, Graduate, Mentor and Revive.
- Bipartisan Initiatives: There will be opportunities for all of us to support smart policies and programs that benefit young Americans, including the LEAP Act, introduced by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) to increase apprenticeships through a new federal tax credit for employers.
Opportunity Nation will be sharing more about these and other commitments unleashed by the synergy of the Summit, as well as how our wider network can get connected to these initiatives as they unfold all across the country, so that you can participate where you live.
None of this would be possible without you – your steadfast belief in the American Dream, your commitment to ensuring it remains within the grasp of the rising generation and your willingness to take concrete action to achieve this goal.
And keeping the third National Opportunity Summit accessible and free from registration fees to 1,000 attendees would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors.
Thank you all. Now let’s get to work. We Got This.
Opportunity Nation
Opportunity Nation is a bipartisan, national campaign comprised of more than 350 cross-sector organizations working together to expand economic mobility and close the opportunity gap in America. Opportunity Nation envisions the United States as a nation where everyone – regardless of where they were born – has equal access to opportunity, economic mobility, and success at all stages of life.
