BALTIMORE –
U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin today joined
Baltimore City Mayor Sheila Dixon and
U.S.
Congressman Elijah Cummings at the
Cylburn Arboretum in announcing $4.7 million in federal funding for the Baltimore City summer jobs program.
  The funding includes $3.5 million through the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
and $1.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Labor for the creation of the Green Jobs Youth Corps, a partnership with the Department of Recreation & Parks.

Senators Cardin and
Barbara A. Mikulski, along with
Congressmen Cummings and
John Sarbanes specifically requested the $1.2 million to provide a six-week YouthWorks project in “green” jobs such as horticulture, wildlife management and urban forestry.
  YouthWorks offers summer job opportunities in private sector and nonprofit locations throughout the city to more than 7,000 youth and young adults, ages 14-24. Support comes from the business and philanthropic communities, local government and individuals.
  For the first time in nearly a decade, the federal government is providing funding specifically for summer jobs.

“The federal government has a responsibility to assist local communities in preparing young adults for employment,” said
Senator Cardin. “I am particularly pleased to have helped get federal funding for the Green Jobs Youth
Corps program and funding that
assists in employing some 7,000 young people in summer jobs this year.”

“I am grateful to the congressional delegation for bringing this much needed relief to Baltimore,” said
Mayor Dixon.
  “Green jobs are the future, and 350 young people in Baltimore will get a head start this summer. A new generation of Baltimore residents can begin careers in the green economy long before their peers.”