The All Stars Project of New Jersey Announces Launch of 2016 Development School for Youth Internship Campaign

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Jan 19, 2016, 11:53 ET

The All Stars Project is a privately funded national nonprofit organization founded in 1981 whose mission is to transform the lives of youth and poor communities using the developmental power of performance, in partnership with caring adults.

NEWARK, N.J., Jan. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The All Stars Project of New Jersey (ASPNJ) is pleased to announce the launch of its 2016 Development School for Youth (DSY) Internship Campaign. The goal of the campaign is to place 200 inner-city graduates of the DSY leadership training program into paid corporate internships this coming summer. The Development School for Youth program is entering its 18^th year in New Jersey. During that time, more than 1,300 inner-city youth from Newark and surrounding areas have graduated from the program and been placed in successful summer internships at over 190 New Jersey companies.

Kevin Cummings, President & CEO, Investors Bank, Derek Dirisio, President, PSEG Services Corporation and Gus Milano, President and COO, Hartz Mountain Industries, and Co-Chairs of the internship campaign, will be hosting a Kick-Off Breakfast on Monday, February 22, 2016 at the Hilton Short Hills. This breakfast will bring together longtime ASPNJ business partners including the 59 New Jersey corporations that sponsored 147 interns in 2015, as well as new partners sponsoring interns for the first time during the summer of 2016. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet DSY graduates and interns who will share how the program has impacted their lives.

Investors Bank, PSEG and Hartz Mountain Industries join hundreds of other companies in actively supporting the DSY Internship program over the years, having collectively sponsored 115 DSY interns over the past 11 years. In explaining the importance of the DSY program to the participating youth and to his company, Kevin Cummings has stated that, "The ASP of NJ helps young men and women develop the self-confidence and skills to achieve success. Our corporate mission is to make a difference in the communities we serve. And, by supporting this great organization, Investors Bank and our charitable foundation are assisting young people to reach their goals."

The Development School for Youth's (DSY) afterschool development model connects inner-city youth between the ages of 16 and 21 with corporate America, enabling them to learn to perform as professionals, create new relationships and new possibilities for themselves. The program partners with corporate professionals and businesses to provide training experiences and internships for DSY graduates.

"We are proud to partner with forward-looking New Jersey corporations that are investing directly in the future of Newark and New Jersey's youth," said Gloria Strickland, City Leader of the All Stars Project of New Jersey. "Together we are developing our youth, and creating hope and opportunity in some of our poorest communities."

If you would like more information regarding the Development School for Youth and the Kick-Off Breakfast, or if you would like to sponsor an intern this summer, please contact: Shadae McDaniel at [email protected] or 973-856-6693 or visit us online at allstars.org/dsy.

About All Stars Project, Inc.

The All Stars Project is a privately funded national nonprofit organization founded in 1981 whose mission is to transform the lives of youth and poor communities using the developmental power of performance, in partnership with caring adults. By 2020, the All Stars Project will be recognized as America's leader in afterschool development, a new way of engaging poverty.

From engaging young people with corporate America through its Development School for Youth (DSY), to the All Stars Talent Show Network (ASTSN), to building better police-community relations through Operation Conversation: Cops & Kids, the All Stars Project has seen the power of performance to change lives. ASP is supported by some of America's leading companies including DIRECTV, EY, Investors Bank, MetLife, PWC and Viacom. Led by President and CEO Gabrielle Kurlander, the ASP involves over 10,000 young people every year in its afterschool programs in six cities across the country – New York City, Newark, NJ, Chicago, IL, the San Francisco Bay Area, CA., Dallas, TX and Bridgeport, CT. Learn more at http://www.allstars.org, on Facebook and on Twitter @AllStarsProject.