Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced Wednesday that the city has met it goal of placing 8,000 young people in summer jobs, beating last year's number of 5,000.
The jobs for youths ages 14 through 21 are through the Youth Works summer jobs program from the Mayor's Office of Economic Development. Rawlings-Blake said the riots that took place after the death in police custody of Freddie Gray in April underscored the importance of making sure that young people are "productively engaged."
"My administration made it a priority to work directly with local businesses, foundations, our partners in government and everyone who was willing to get involved to increase the nationally-recognized summer jobs program," she said.
More than half of this year's participants will go to work with those partners or the city on Monday. The rest will start their jobs July 13.
The announcement is also being called the first "deliverable" of the mayor's One Baltimore initiative by its leader, Michael Cryor.
The initiative was created in the wake of the riots.
Cryor said being able to meet the goal in the month since he was picked by Rawlings-Blake shows the unlimited ability of people to come together.
"The number of people, the kinds of companies, the kinds of jobs; the outreach we have experienced has just been extraordinary," Cryor said.
The Mayor's Office of Employment Development, which runs the Youth Works program, said it will cost $10 million. The funding is coming from various sources including donations and city funds.
The agency is hoping to be able to tell more success stories like that of Alexandra Odom, who joined the program after her first year in high school.
Now attending Grinnell College in Iowa, the history major said her recent experience as an intern with landscape architecture firm Mahan Rykiel Associates helped expand her view as a historian.
"The ways that historical research can help in designing and planning and beatifying our city and increasing green opportunities," said Odom.