FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Amanda Leesburg
Leesburg PR
404-218-6578
amanda@leesburgpr.com
Mister Migs Announces Your Career Unleashed (YCU) Scholarship Program
YCU Bridges Employment Barriers for Atlanta Youth with Autism and Developmental Disabilities
ATLANTA – June 8, 2016 – Today, Atlanta-based non-profit Mister Migs launches YCU, Your Career Unleashed, a unique scholarship program designed to break down employment barriers for youth with autism and developmental disabilities ages 18-26.
One of every six children in the United States is diagnosed with a developmental disability or autism – and as young adults are the largest population of unemployed individuals in the U.S. Despite wanting to work after high school, 76 percent of these youth are unemployed and 68 percent report having stopped looking for work because the job hunt seems so futile.
YCU’s new program connects youth to a 10-week curriculum and a hands-on internship, rich in teamwork and mentoring. Learning and practice are scheduled in small group sessions, including team building activities and tours of Atlanta’s leading companies. Individual career planning is scheduled for each mentee and extends to one year after they’ve completed the program.
“YCU offers a unique, positive training model focused on teamwork to combat the tragically high unemployment rate of youth with autism and developmental disabilities,” said Karen Lynn, Mister Migs founder and president. “Through this scholarship program, YCU is able to mentor young people, helping them explore employment options and focus on their wants and needs, not only for their career but for their life passion.”
YCU scholarship recipients intern at Mister Migs, a manufacturer of fashionable, fun and functional pet gear made of recycled denim and repurposed materials. Thus, the “dog gear for good” that Mister Migs makes not only helps the community by providing employment options to youth with autism and developmental disabilities, but also helps the environment via its focus on sustainability. When working at Mister Migs, YCU participants are exposed to a variety of job functions including design, manufacturing, marketing and communications, photography, production, fulfillment, office administration and much more.
The 10-week YCU curriculum focuses on three areas of an individual’s growth:
· My Self – addressing professionalism, safety, money management and work ethic
· My Company – exploring work, employer expectations, business rules and communication
· My Career – leveraging strengths and skills, resume development, interviewing and mentors
Following the 10-week curriculum, mentees work with Career Coaches and other mentors for up to one-year to further develop their readiness to secure employment. YCU is highly-focused on teamwork and mentoring, and offers an in-depth opportunity for mentees to work alongside seasoned business professionals who share clear work expectations, entrepreneurial values and positive work ethics. Because Mister Migs and YCU offer young people such practical employment experience, the company is developing working, tax-paying, engaged young adults who are participating in their community and learning life-long skills.
To learn more about YCU, to provide a scholarship or to apply for one, please visit www.YCUAtlanta.org.
About Mister Migs
Mister Migs, LLC is a non-profit which makes and sells “Dog Gear for Good,” fashionable, fun and functional pet gear made of recycled denim and repurposed materials. But there’s a larger mission. The company mentors and helps secure employment for youth with developmental disabilities and autism, so young people obtain essential real-world experience by working and learning. Based in Metro-Atlanta, Mister Migs partners with Wow In-Sync, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) organization, in an open-community entrepreneurial initiative to mentor young people, offer valuable business exposure, and help them overcome barriers to mainstream employment. In this manner, individuals can pursue and reach their personal passion and purpose in their careers and in their lives. For more information, visit www.mistermigs.com.
