DSY Luncheon co-chairs Dennis Schneider (far left) and David Byron (center) with (l. to r.) Gloria Strickland, Bonny Gildin, Samuel Charles, Jessica Quallis and Robert Ross.

The New Jersey business community is stepping up its partnership with the All Stars Project New Jersey's Development School for Youth, with big returns in the growth and development of Newark's young people. "The premise of the DSY program is that there are some things that you can learn outside of school that you can't learn in school—like gaining a sophisticated understanding of how the world works,"says Gloria Strickland, who directs the program. "Poor and minority young people are in critical need of this kind of developmental learning experience. They need help to break out—socially and culturally—of their narrow and impoverished life circumstances. In the DSY, it's the business community that participates with our young people to produce this growth and development."In recent program cycles DSY students had the opportunity to participate in interactive workshops designed and led by some of New Jersey's top business leaders.

The continuing commitment of partner companies and a core grouping of professionals in the DSY's summer internship program is another way that business has stepped up to invest in youth. Says Strickland, "At the beginning of DSY, many young people confide in me that they really don't believe that they will actually be placed in a paid summer jobin a corporation. But they are. We find a place for every young person."This summer, 38 DSY graduates were placed in internships in 17 companies.

The professionals who supervise the students play a very valuable role in the ongoing process of the young people's development. Says Strickland, "The internship is a significant step for the young people, who have to grapple with the fact that development is hard, ongoing work. The supervisors support our young people to keep performing and to continuously expand their capacities to learn in life.”

At an appreciation ceremony held at LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell on August 2, 2005 the summer DSY interns acknowledged their supervisors' contributions to their development. Students also gave a "Supervisor of the Year"award to Prudential's Suzanne Cashin in recognition of her special contributions to the internship program. "I have great passion for the DSY program. I love helping the young people who are with us in the summer. Everything we invest in them reaps huge returns, not just for them but for us as well.”