As a mother of three teenagers, ages 14, 16, and 17, I’ve recently watched our family enter a new season of life. Conversations around the dinner table have shifted from middle school homework and sports or club schedules to resumes, interviews, and first jobs.
This year, all three of my children came to me with the same question: “Can we work this summer?”
Like so many New York City families, we immediately began exploring the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), the nation’s largest youth employment initiative, which connects young people ages 14–24 with paid summer work experiences and career exploration opportunities. Through SYEP, young people develop leadership skills, workplace readiness, and confidence while earning their first paycheck.
As we browsed different SYEP providers and considered options like JCH or CAPC in Brooklyn, my children suddenly stopped and laughed.
“Wait,” they said. “Mom… don’t you work for Catholic Charities of New York?”
At that moment, my professional and personal life were beautifully intersected. Catholic Charities of New York is also deeply involved in SYEP through its Alianza Division and Catholic Charities Community Services.
For years, I have seen firsthand how our organization supports individuals and families across our communities helping our neighbors, feeding the hungry, supporting seniors, counseling families, and opening doors for young people. And now I was seeing my kids getting excited about an opportunity to start their careers with us.
Catholic Charities of New York, in partnership with the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development, runs a six-week Summer Youth Employment Program that empowers young people with meaningful work experiences, mentorship, and career exposure. Our programs the opportunity not only to earn money, but also to discover purpose, responsibility, and confidence during their formative years.
Programs like SYEP do not happen on their own. They are sustained through compassion, partnership, and generosity, including the lasting generosity of planned giving donors who believe in investing in future generations.
Young people who work in Catholic Charities of New York’s SYEP program gain entrepreneurial skills, leadership development, and real-world workplace experience, from large events and conferences to hands-on opportunities with local businesses and community organizations. These programs do far more than fill summer schedules; they shape futures.
As a parent, that matters deeply to me. There is something profound about watching your children step toward independence. Their first application. Their first interview. Their first paycheck. As parents, we hope the world they enter will include organizations and mentors who care not only about what they can do, but about who they can become.
Planned giving is about legacy. It is about ensuring that years from now, another parent will sit at a kitchen table with their teenager and help them prepare for their first summer job. It is about making sure young people across New York City continue to have opportunities to grow, work, and dream.
When donors include Catholic Charities of New York in their estate plans, they help create stability for programs that transform lives every single day. Their generosity supports youth development initiatives that give young people confidence, skills, and hope for the future.
As both an employee and a mother, I see the impact from every angle. I see it in the pride on my children’s faces as they talk about working this summer. I see it in the communities Catholic Charities of New York serves. And I see it in the donors whose thoughtful planned gifts ensure this work continues for generations to come.
For many young people, a summer job is more than employment. It is the beginning of believing in themselves. And for Catholic Charities of New York, that belief, in people, in families, in futures, is at the heart of everything we do.
Learn more: https://catholiccharitiesny.org/waystogive
