Founded in 1995, Futures and Options’ mission is to connect New York City’s underserved youth to careers. It reaches out to teens at a formative time of their lives – before they grow into adulthood – guiding them to further their education, develop job skills, and become contributing and responsible citizens. In this way, they become role models for their peers, siblings and communities. Through career development workshops and paid, highly-supported internships, Futures and Options youth gain much-needed access to the economic mainstream and work-readiness training, as they explore career opportunities that may seem unattainable to them, and receive mentoring from caring and achieving adults. At the same time, businesses are connected to a pipeline of promising, motivated and diverse young people. Since its inception, it has served more than 3,500 New York City teens and coordinated internships at more than 350 businesses. In 2012, New York City’s four year a high school graduation rate was 61%; while 99% of Futures and Options seniors graduated from high school on time, and 94% began college in fall.
