KIB Sees Incredible Demand for Summer Job Opportunities

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.’s Youth Tree Team accepting interested high school students for innovative employment program. Challenge Day is March 6.

INDIANAPOLIS, March 2, 2010 – Since 2006 Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.’s (KIB) Youth Tree Team (YTT) has been making a difference on the landscape of Indianapolis and in the lives of local high school students.

The Youth Tree Team is a 10-week summer program that employs Indianapolis high school students and adults. The Team’s main responsibility is to preserve and maintain the trees that are planted on public spaces through KIB’s NeighborWoods program. The team spends about 20 hours per week watering, mulching, pruning, and staking trees. In 2009 the Youth Tree Team watered over 2,000 trees each week.

• 400 high school students have signed up for the Youth Tree Team Challenge Day at the KIB headquarters on Saturday, March 6 where they will compete in fun obstacles that test their willingness to work hard and get their hands dirty.
• Youth are competing for 36 spots.
• Times for the try-outs are 10am to 12pm and 1pm to 3pm.
• Mayor Greg Ballard will be out to greet and encourage the youth at 10am.

“We are amazed at the demand for this program,” says David Forsell, KIB President. “We've budgeted for the same number of positions as we did in 2009, but interest from teens has doubled this year. We think that is a testament to the experiences youth have at KIB, but is obviously too, a testament to the times. We're only limited now by the funding we're able to secure to hire more kids.”

The application process for the program concludes with a volunteer project and an in-person interview later in March.

Team members are paid an hourly rate and receive a free lunch each workday. In addition to a wage, members gain valuable life skills that range from leadership experience and team building, to job training and environmental knowledge. There are also a variety of planned activities that focus on the creation of lifelong positive experiences. Last year’s activities included: a visit to a college campus, financial management skills instruction, a meeting with a landscape architect, scaling a climbing wall, and a rafting trip on the White River.

The program grew from 10 employees in 2006 to 40 high schoolers and 10 adult leaders in 2009. Past YTT members recall their great experiences. One member even returned as a youth leader in 2009 and is currently at Purdue University studying Landscape Architecture.

More information for the 2010 Youth Tree Team can be found online at www.kibi.org_youth_tree_team. For questions about the Youth Tree Team, please contact: Nate Faris 317.264.7555 x 111, or nfaris@kibi.org.

About Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to unite people to build community and transform public spaces through aesthetic and environmental improvement. In 2009, KIB engaged over 45,000 volunteers on community and environmental improvement projects in every part of Marion County. To learn more, please visit www.kibi.org.

KIB is located at 1029 E. Fletcher Ave., on the southwest corner of Fletcher & Shelby.

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