Members of White House Council for Community Solutions Continue Youth Listening Tours Across the Country

Members of White House Council for Community Solutions Continue Youth Listening Tours Across the Country

Third session in Houston on May 16 is one of several with Jon Bon Jovi; Previous sessions have included Atlanta, GA (May 13) and New Orleans (April 29); Upcoming visit to New York City planned for late May

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As previously announced by The White House Council for Community Solutions, Council members Jon Bon Jovi and Michael Kempner (CEO of MWW Group) are currently hosting a series of youth listening tours at various community-based organizations across the country. In Houston, TX this Monday, May 16, Jon Bon Jovi will again engage young Americans and community leaders in candid conversations to determine where efforts are most needed.

On Monday, the session will be hosted at SEARCH Homeless Houston and attended by the youth they serve as well as young adults from Goodwill Houston, Community in Schools and Gulf Coast Trades Center. The Houston visit is the third listening session in a series that first began in New Orleans on April 29, 2011 and attended by youth who have been served by local organizations Cafe Reconcile, Liberty's Kitchen, Youth Empowerment Project and Tulane Drop In Center. The second visit occurred on Friday, May 13 in Atlanta at the Goodwill Career Center and attended by Chris Kids and Visions Youth Leadership Academy.

Currently, less than half of young Americans have the education, training and skills needed to compete in today's workforce by age 25. President Obama established the White House Council to bring all sectors together - individuals, business, community organizations, philanthropy, and government - to identify solutions to pressing issues, help young people succeed, and make lasting progress on our national priorities.

The Council listening tour adds to the White House's broader effort to engage young people nationwide through youth roundtables. After the roundtables, youth participants can submit their most pressing issues and most inspiring solutions to the White House's Your Future, Your Solutions: 100 Youth Strategies to Win the Future website at www.whitehouse.gov/youngamericans. This effort enables the administration to hear directly from young people about the challenges they face and connect participants with Obama Administration officials through conference calls, web chats, and other opportunities.

Established in December 2010 by President Obama, the White House Council for Community Solutions will focus on an issue with critical near-term and long-term consequences for our nation's health and economic strength - the responsibility of our society to ensure adolescents and young adults are prepared to live productive and prosperous lives. The Council is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service. More information about the WHCCS can be found at www.serve.gov/council.

Your Future, Your Solutions: 100 Youth Strategies to Win the Future is an effort that enables the administration to hear directly from young people about the challenges they face. The initiative connects participants with Obama Administration officials through conference calls, web chats, and other opportunities. For more information go to www.whitehouse.gov/youngamericans.

COUNCIL CHAIR:
Patricia Stonesifer
Chairwoman, Smithsonian Institution

COUNCIL MEMBERS
Byron Auguste
Director, Social Sector Office,
McKinsey & Company

Diana Aviv
President & CEO, Independent Sector

Paula Boggs
Executive Vice President
General Counsel & Secretary, Starbucks

Jon Bon Jovi
Musician & Board Chairman,
Bon Jovi & Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation

John Bridgeland
President & CEO, Civic Enterprises

Jim Canales
President & CEO,
James Irvine Foundation

Scott Cowen
President, Tulane University

John Donahoe
President & CEO, eBay Inc.

Michael Fleming
Executive Director,
David Bohnett Foundation

David Friedman
Lead Director & Chair
Edison Properties/HNB Private Trust

Mark Gearan
President,
Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Jim Gibbons
President & CEO, Goodwill Industries

Laurene Powell Jobs
Co-Founder & President of the Board,
College Track

Michele Jolin
Senior Fellow,
Center for American Progress

Michael Kempner
Founder, President & CEO,
MWW Group

Steve Lerner
Managing Partner, Blue Hill Group

Maurice Miller
Founder & CEO,
Family Independence Initiative

Norman Rice
CEO, The Seattle Foundation

Kristin Richmond
Founder & CEO, Revolution Foods

Judith Rodin
President, Rockefeller Foundation

Nancy H. Rubin
Board Member
National Democratic Institute

Paul Schmitz
CEO, Public Allies

Jill Schumann
President & CEO
Lutheran Service in America (LSA)

Bobbi Silten
Senior Vice President, Global Responsibility, Gap, Inc. & President, Gap Foundation

Bill Strickland
Founder & CEO,
Manchester Craftsmen's Guild

COUNCIL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
Leslie Boissiere
Office of the CEO, Corporation for
National and Community Service

SOURCE White House Council for Community Solutions

White House Council for Community Solutions

CONTACT: Tiffany Shipp (Bon Jovi), +1-212-691-2800; shipp@sunshinesachs.com, or Ranit Schmelzer (CNCS), +1-202-391-2050; rschmelzer@cns.gov

Web Site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/youngamericans

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