the 250 other companies starting here in san francisco. they will be great jobs. or you can be part of the health-care industry. or you can be part of the tourism industry. i think you know the secret. that is why you are here. you are seeking those resources out. microsoft, unified school district, nonprofits all working together to create and sustain your focus. please take advantage of it. i want to thank the bill and melinda gates foundation. with everybody that is focused on your success. when you are successful, the city will be that much more successful.

that is why we worked in government, for you. make sure you join the million dollar club. make sure you focus. take advantage. the number-one thing, when you are confronted with something distract you from completing your education, family challenges, the french it challenges, as academic challenges, -- french shriendsh challenges, academic challenges, we are there for you. thank you for joining us. [applause] i want to introduce someone who has been at my side, not only fighting for success, but creating and helping to manage and contain that achievement gap.

carlos garcia. thank you. >> good morning. it is exciting to be here. i remember about five years ago, we were talking about doing something like this. all of the people who worked together, we all got together and we were dreaming about creating something that would guarantee every student in san francisco wanted to go to college, to have that opportunity. and we have done it, folks. if there's anybody who does not want to go to college, you are making a bad decision. there are no excuses of why you cannot gynecologist. -- there are those cases of what you cannot go to college. we do not want any excuses of what you cannot make it to city college. they opened up the door, giving your first priority to register.

the chancellor did a great job for us. anybody who wants to come who goes to san francisco unified school district, the doors are open first for them. here is your chance, there are no excuses. it is easy to say you cannot pay for it, all the different reasons. there is an answer and a way to do it if you what to do it. people like myself, people like richard, we had no chance of going to college. we did not think we could ever get there. i grow up only speaking spanish. i had to learn english. i worked in factories. we are up here. we are the superintendent of these great school districts. you have to want to do it.

this is the first stop of the rest of your life. go out and ask a bunch of questions. in the fall, we want to see every single one of you in a college classroom. are you going to be here? yes, you are going to make it. together, we will have a better place. what the mayor forgot to tell you, and i am surprised, one of the things we are requiring people to open the businesses here, and they have to hire local people. they have to hire you. you have to be ready to get the jobs. if you get training at city college and at the university, you will be qualified for those jobs. do not let that slide. you'll be happy with what you do. have a great day. [applause]

>> carlitz, thank you for reminding me about that. -- carlos, thank you for reminding me about that. how many of you want a summer job? make some money? a paid internship. we joined 25 companies and 25 department heads. we are creating 5000 summer jobs for youth this summer, paid internships. we started that yesterday. before you get out of school, a sign up with this city. asked how you can sign up for the summer internships. they are starting this summer for you. so you get a good head start. 5000 summer jobs. how many of you are 16 --

between 16 and 24? those jobs are for you. make sure you pay attention. [applause] >> i want to introduce someone from microsoft. you'll want to listen very closely. he is the strategic alliance manager for education at microsoft. brian. [applause] >> i am honored to be here representing microsoft and our involvement with this on -- a wonderful event. microsoft is focused on providing all students like yourselves, regardless of your location or socioeconomic status, with the necessary tools and skills you need to succeed to be successful and productive citizens within the 21st

century. an integral part of this commitment is helping individuals develop the skills they will need to navigate a world and work place which is undefined. it is technologically advanced and it is growing more competitive day-by-day. if students like yourselves are going to compete successfully, 60% of those jobs 10 years from now do not even exist today, we must provide you with the foundation you need to become lifelong learners. skills such as communication and collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, these are the fundamental components that will enable you to be a lifelong learner. i am pleased to announce that microsoft is donating more than $22,000 towards laptops such as these. to support the students that are enrolled in city college's

summer programs. each student that successfully graduates this wonderful program grow received a laptop fully equipped with the software you need to be productive in realizing their full potential as you continue your education. this is our way of thanking you for making a personal commitment to your journey and becoming a lifelong learner. this donation at supports microsoft goal of bringing together people, passion, and technology, to encourage and to empower local youth to carry a bright future for the city of san francisco. sharing this mission are my fellow colleagues who volunteered to make this a commitment. i would like to ask each of you to help me thank them. good luck, and thank you. [applause]

>> i want to think microsoft for donating 50 laptops. two of them will be given away today. the dean will explain how he will have a chance to win those laptops. i want to remind everyone that this is an event that is part of your school day. it goes until 3:00. we expect everybody to stay here and participate. please do not leave the campus. there is no reason for you to go across the street. unless you do one of our workshops. please stay here, it gets involved, we have wonderful workshops. our last speaker is a student. i want her to come up and tell you her story from distant perspective. [applause] -- from the student's perspective. [applause] >> good morning.

my name is karen. i grew up in the mission, i went to george washington high school. [applause] i am currently a freshman do in my pre requisite to transfer to dominican to become a nurse. i think many of you can relate in that i did not take my freshman or sophomore year seriously. i came into high school thinking i was cool and i wanted to have fun. by the time senior year rolls around and applications were due, city college was my only option. but you know what, it has been an amazing experience. the teachers are incredible and i know what they are doing. i love my glasses. another thing that helped -- i love my class is. another thing that helped was the support system. i did a summer program.

they provided a coach for my first year. i am very much in contact with. i got prior to registration, and they walked me through picking my glasses -- priority registration, and walked me through picking my class says. at the end of the program, i got a free laptop. it has been amazing. the people here are incredible. last year, when i was in your position, i was like, i could be doing better things. everything you learned today, if you pay attention, it is going to come in handy when you are sitting in front of the computer and your like, why do i do? how do i register? you guys should really pay attention and definite check out the information tabled. and the summer bridge program. have fun. [applause]

>> ok, we are ready to get started with the actual program. check it out. i have my backpack on. ok. inside a bad back back, and there is a passport. it looks like -- inside that backpack, there is a passport. you have to give its stamp when you go to other places, right? due out today, you need to get it stands. -- throw out today, you need to get it stamped. -- throughout today, you need to give its stamp. it goes towards a laptop. if you did not catch it, you have the opportunity to win a laptop today. courtesy of microsoft. it is fully loaded. we needed to engage in

participate. again, to be self advocates. please enjoy the day. dj, let's have some music.

>> there is inappropriate buzz in the room, appropriate because the city that knows how has done it again. -- there is an appropriator buzz in the room. we have leaders from all sectors that have gathered to demonstrate and make a commitment to our young people. we're thrilled that all of you are here. so it all started -- i was 14 years old. i wanted a job.

single -- only child of a single mom in the western addition of san francisco, living in martin luther king square. west side. sorry. [laughter] and my mom enroll me in the mayor's use, employment, and education program. [cheers and applause] and it was my first exposure. i was placed at, then, call the department of public services. and i spent my summer at 170 otis. and it was my first exposure to the workplace. what does it mean to be professional? what does that mean to show up on time? timeliness. what does that mean to show up on time? it gave me the opportunity to understand the possibility, with regard to growing and learning, and it in precise the importance of education. so it was a great and amazing and foundational starting place for me to now be in front of you as the coo of united way bay

area, to ensure we bring more opportunities for more young people. so we're thrilled to welcome you all here today. with that, you're going to hear from a number of our leaders to have made commitments. we're also going to issue you a challenge, so get ready. there is an enormous need, an enormous number of young people who are in need of opportunities. we want to create as many as possible. you will hear about the challenge in a moment. today's launch is made possible because of many fronts. there is no one who has been a more staunched committed leader, committed to our city, committed to job creation, and in particular, committed to young people that our cities leader. please welcome mayor ed lee. [applause] >> thank you. thank you, eric. good morning, everyone. welcome to city hall. thank you for that introduction. thank you for what you're doing

it united way and with the obama administration to help work with us to get youth jobs this summer. how is that as a goal? [applause] before i introduce other people to speak though on this very important topic, i just want to say thank you and welcome to an amazing house democratic leader nancy pelosi, for bringing the sunshine in today, thank you. [applause] as well, i want to thank our board president david chiu for being here this morning. thank you. [applause] i see david campos is here, and other members of the board of supervisors are coming in and waking up and doing other things. [laughter] [applause] i also want to thank our superintendent of schools, carlos garcia. thank you for being here. [applause] and from united way, thank you, ann, for being here.

roberta from after college, thank you for being here. -- roberto, thank you for being here. and you'll hear from two one a fall youth from our city. we will hear from you in a moment -- two wonderful youth from our city. we will hear from you in a moment. as you know, we have a lot of berbers and shows. companies, associations, are college board, school board, leaders from the non-profit area. our community-based organizations have been so and valuable to helping us build an infrastructure here. thank you, all of you, for coming to, i think, this is a historic an unprecedented day, because we have got some great collaboration going on that i have never seen in all my years working in san francisco. this is exciting. it is historic to be part of this, because as a city with our nonprofit partners, private sector partners, and business,

we're all putting together our resources, our expertise in all of our communities to create an unprecedented number of summer jobs and paid internships. by the way, i say paid internships, for our young people in san francisco. for this summer and hopefully to create an infrastructure for the ongoing future working with united way. thank you. a few people around here have heard me talk about a topic, something called jobs, once in awhile. i mention that a little bit when i am are around city hall. but as you know, it is been my mantra, my purpose for wanting to be mayor of this great city to try to create jobs for everybody, for every neighborhood in the city, for every classification, for every age group. and we are seeing some of those results today in our great city. with our unemployment rate falling, we are seeing jobs created. obviously in the technology industry.

the construction industry and health care, manufacturing, hospitality, and in some many of our local companies. but i know we can do better, because, especially when it comes to our young people who suffer an unemployment rate that is three times more than our general population, we can do better. we can try to erase those barriers to employment that makes it so difficult for our youth, especially when you no statistics that we have been sharing with a lot of you. age 16 to 19, 35% unemployment rate. when you get to age 24 group, between 20 and 24, that is about almost 18% unemployment rate. they have got it tougher, while we are now enjoying an unemployment rate that is down, going down below 8%. that is why earlier this year, when president obama challenged our nation, the private sector, and they also challenged all of

our mayors in washington -- we were there in january, to join him in a national campaign to produce jobs to our young people. i said, san francisco must step up. we can be part of that national leadership on this call by our president. because i think many of you know firsthand that a quality work experience for a young person can simply be a bridge to a lifeline. the lifeline for young persons that are setting themselves up on the right path, for lifting up their families. and of course, helping make our city a better place. so the date -- today, we are kicking off san francisco's summer jobs plus, a partnership to create more than 5000 high- quality summer jobs and paid internships for our young people with a focus on at-risk and is connected youth in our city. as you know, the white house

designated the united way to be their national and local partner. i want to thank our united way for everything they do every year. we are into the charity aspects of our city agencies. united way is there to help escorted a that. well, this summer, with their good work, they have helped us win some real commitments from our private sector companies that are here today. also, i want to thank them for helping us build an infrastructure, an ongoing infrastructure to make that job referral right to the private sector very unbreaking, a consistent pipeline that we're going to be announcing today. that will help our young people who are looking for work, connect right into the companies who are ready to welcome them at this summer. i know many of you are here today to be part of this historic event. i want to thank all of you as well. the city, the largest of lawyer,

those city departments are here today, all the agencies we have worked together with, thank you for providing the leadership and recognizing that we have limited resources, and we know that, and we have had those budget meetings already. i asked you to do something probably near impossible. but like so many mayors before me, when i was a department head, they did the same thing to me. i get to do the same thing to you. and it is always asked that you go right to the edge with us. because guess what, for our young people, it is worth it. it is were that to give hope to our youth. so you join us. you take the lead. then i can go out with the city's commitment to 2500 jobs in the city agencies. city agencies like our public utilities commission is going to take kids into the sewer, into the water mains, and learn what it is to keep our infrastructure

going. right? we have rec and park in charge of the most beautiful parks in the world and our neighborhood parks, our golden gate park. we are going to have youth working with them all summer. our public libraries. the libraries that are not closing. they are opening as we speak. more neighborhood libraries open. they have an exciting program for our youth. even our juvenile probation department. yes, they have jobs for our youth this summer. they're going to be part of a challenge of all of our departments working together with youth works, with our department of children youth, with our families, our school district, to 4 hour 2500 jobs. so i want to thank all of the department heads for being here today. you are really finding out how hard it is to do more with less, but you are working with me to make this bonafide commitment to all of our youth.

now i turn you to the attention of our private sector. the true economic engine and job-creators for our city. our private sector employers are here today. whether you're with associations. i want to thank you for joining us. actually, i want to thank you in advance for matching the number of jobs we are going to have for our youth. in fact, if i can say this, i actually want to thank you for beating us. [laughter] [applause] together, we can create more than 5000 jobs for our young people, especially kids from difficult backgrounds and with barriers to traditional employment. and we are here to help you make sure that their work-ready and that we can place them with you. and we will hear more about this in a minute. some of you in this room have already made an early

commitment, and i want to really thank you. i want to applaud your leadership. i want to thank you on behalf of all of us but we have companies like bank of america, wells fargo, and pg&e, along with sf city, jamba juice, hornblower, price waterhouse, salesforce, union bank, ups -- there are so many of you that early register your tremendous support for this unprecedented collaboration with us. so i want to thank you. but i will probably do something that will make my staff a little nervous. you know, in an addition to just thanking you today, hopefully with your commitments that you're going to reflect, i am going to offer something else. and i hope that my staff listens to this carefully. if you join us that if you create jobs for our young people this summer and beyond, i am

going to get out to as many of your company's this summer and thank your employees personally. i want to be there with you, with the youth in your companies, and personally thank them for helping us meet the high number, unprecedented number of jobs you're creating, and thank them for celebrating our future with our kids and your work force. because this is important to me. this is important to president chiu, superintendent carlos garcia, and others have joined me in this unprecedented cause. we're making history. we're making history with bringing everybody together, united on this front. speaking about making history, i just want to say a little bit about nancy pelosi being here today. our house democratic leader has been a national champion. she was with me yesterday for a good part of the day, going through and revering with our municipal transit agency and our very hopeful completion of our

central subway -- revealing with our minister transit agency our hopeful completion of central subway. she was kind of like me. all we can talk about is jobs, jobs, jobs. and there are some great programs president obama and her have put together, and we have benefited from them so much here and used it rightly so to employees so many people. it is my great pleasure and honor to introduce her this morning to be part of this exciting and historic effort. please welcome leader pelosi. [applause] >> thank you very much, mr. mayor. i am honored to be here with you this morning on this very important occasion. listening to you and the enthusiasm that you have always had and that you demonstrated here today, we're very blessed to have your leadership on this initiative and many other initiatives as well.

but the summer youth jobs initiative is an important one. it is important in terms of survival for some of these kids to just get a chance. it is important for their success once they get that chance. it is really transforming to of for them and for our community. it has a benefit of their contribution, which is a very individual one and a very special one. i wanted to join you in acknowledging the businesses that have already made some level of commitment to all of this. i want to add to that ron conway, because i know he is representing many, many tech businesses, which are largely small businesses. while we want to acknowledge corporate america that is participating in a very strong way, and that is very important, and some small businesses, as you mentioned. but the idea that this connection will be made with these young people