INDIANAPOLIS – May 9, 2024 – This morning, Mayor Joe Hogsett, the Office of Minority and Women Business Development, EmployIndy, and over 50 local employers gathered at the 23rd Annual Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards to recognize organizations who demonstrate inclusivity in the workplace and are dedicated to supporting diverse individuals and continuing progress in our community. This year’s event took place in-person at the Culinary and Conference Center at Ivy Tech Community College, with over 400 in attendance to hear local leaders share their experiences and best practices for progressing diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.  

This event places a special emphasis on the importance of supporting youth employment in Marion County as proceeds go to support Project Indy, an initiative developed by Mayor Joe Hogsett in 2016 and housed within EmployIndy. Through Project Indy’s virtual platform that utilizes text messaging to recruit and onboard job seekers, nearly 18,000 young adults in Marion County have been connected to work experiences that build their employability skills and allow them to explore new career fields. 

“My congratulations to all of this year's Mayor's Celebration of Diversity Award winners,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett. “We extend this recognition each year because diversity is one of our city’s greatest strengths – and embracing that diversity, ensuring every resident has the opportunity to participate in our growth and success, benefits our whole community.” 

A new award was added to this year’s event; the Excellence in Service Community-Based Organization (CBO) Award. This award celebrates a non-profit community-based organization that provides excellent and inclusive workforce development services to Marion County residents and employers. 

In total, seven awards were given at this year’s event with unique focuses including celebrating the quality of services delivered by community-based organizations, impact of youth apprenticeships, good wages and employee support, excelling in youth employment, diversity in leadership, and a focus on workplace culture. 

“EmployIndy is excited to partner with Mayor Hogsett and the City of Indianapolis to recognize organizations who have proven their commitment to equitable practices in hiring, leadership, quality jobs, culture, and service delivery,” said Marie Mackintosh, president & CEO of EmployIndy. “This year’s new award for Community-Based Organizations aligns with our strategic focus on building capacity among our ecosystem partners to ensure quality career coaching and employment services are delivered across Marion County.” 

Award recipients at this year’s event are as follows: 

“Excellence in Service Community-Based Organization (CBO) Award” was awarded to Keys2Work for their provision of excellent and inclusive workforce development services to Marion County residents and employers. 

“Dr. Mechelle Polter Youth Apprenticeship Employer of the Year” was awarded to Indianapolis Airport Authority for their dedication to providing high school students with a positive trajectory to actively pursue a career by providing valuable, paid apprenticeship opportunities that complement their traditional coursework. 

“Choice Employer” was awarded to Citizens Energy Group for offering all full-time employees a good wage of $18 an hour and benefits and embodies the traits of a “Choice Employer,” by creating a work environment that focuses on supporting Career Pathways, Culture and Diversity, and Employee Resources. 

“Excellence in Youth Employment” was awarded to Arcamed LLC for their commitment to offering youth and young adults in Indianapolis an opportunity for their first job and embraces a culture that promotes the personal growth of those individuals through mentoring and advancement. 

“Diversity in Workforce” was awarded to O’Neal Manufacturing Services who, in the past year, successfully implemented best practices to support workforce diversity.  

“Diversity in Leadership” was awarded to Morales Group Staffing who cultivates an atmosphere of growth, particularly when considering upper-level diversity as well as actively supporting a diverse organizational culture. 

“Sam H. Jones ‘Best of the Best’” was awarded to Indy Equity Collaborative for exemplary performance in all aspects of diversity. 

Individuals who are interested in supporting youth employment in Marion County through Project Indy can donate online at www.employindy.org/mcod-donate. More information about Project Indy can be found at projectindy.net. 

Indianapolis – March 7, 2024 – This morning, Mayor Joe Hogsett, EmployIndy, and partners kicked off the summer hiring season by announcing the 2024 edition of the Project Indy summer jobs initiative at Victory Field. Project Indy is currently offering nearly 2,450 available positions from over 100 local employers on its online platform at projectindy.net, which makes it easier than ever for young people to get connected to employers who are hiring. 

“We’re excited to welcome the Indianapolis Indians and Victory Field into the Project Indy family of youth employers,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett. “Since 2016, thousands of young people and hundreds of local employers have used this tool to find and fill the jobs that support a more prosperous and qualified Indy workforce.” 

Project Indy was launched in 2016 by Mayor Hogsett alongside EmployIndy, the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC), and the Marion County Commission on Youth (MCCOY). Since its launch, Project Indy has empowered nearly 17,500 young adults in Marion County by providing work experiences that build their employability skills and allow them to explore new career fields. During that time, over 350 employers have posted open positions on the portal.  

Youth ages 16-24 can get started using Project Indy’s virtual job board by simply texting “ProjectIndy” to 317-659-9657. This easy-to-use online platform utilizes text messaging to recruit and onboard job seekers, includes a location-based tool that works to connect youth to nearby opportunities, and also allows for filtering job opportunities by interest. Once registered, job seekers can easily apply to any of the hundreds of open positions by providing a few pieces of basic information.  

By hiring young adults throughout Marion County, local employers provide soft-skill development and job-readiness training, playing an important role in training our future workforce. Employers, such as new Project Indy partner Indianapolis Indians, benefit by creating a talent pipeline for their business or industry. 

“Hiring young people is key to our success and we feel Project Indy is going to benefit us a lot in that effort,” said Business Operations Manager at the Indianapolis Indians, Sarah Haynes. “Some of our key leaders got their start in part-time or internship positions here, and we look forward to sparking career interest in our new hires.” 

EmployIndy, which administers Project Indy, will continue promoting the virtual platform through face-to-face recruiting at Indianapolis-area high schools, targeted social media campaigns, and presence at local youth hiring fairs. In 2023, over 700 young people in Indianapolis were connected to job opportunities through Project Indy.  

“Project Indy is one of our Career-Connected Learning initiatives within EmployIndy that ensures young adults are prepared for success in the 21st-century economy,” said EmployIndy President + CEO, Marie Mackintosh. “Additionally, Project Indy gives employers the opportunity to modernize their recruitment strategy through discovering, hiring, and developing the right talent.” 

In 2018, EmployIndy, in partnership with the City of Indianapolis and the Indy Chamber, launched Job Ready Indy, an online employability skills program focused on providing the soft skills needed to succeed in the workplace. When an individual completes one of the online courses, a Job Ready Indy badge will appear on their Project Indy profile – notifying an interested employer that they are deemed by EmployIndy and the Indy Chamber as someone who demonstrates the “job-ready” skills important to the workplace.  

Employers interested in hiring youth can sign up to be a Project Indy partner here. Youth interested in joining the Project Indy platform can get started by simply texting “ProjectIndy” to 317-659-9657 or visiting projectindy.net. 

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – February 8, 2024 – This morning, over 100 Indianapolis high school juniors and seniors met at Martin University for the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) Indy Regional Career Development Conference. Each student utilized the employability skills they have learned in their JAG classrooms over the course of the past year, competing in challenges such as launching entrepreneurship plans, developing chapter marketing campaigns, providing creative solutions, demonstrating employability skills and critical thinking, and more. 

The JAG Indy program prepares students for the workforce by introducing them to employability skills and different industries, employers, and work experiences.  

“It's amazing to see the hard work that our JAG Indy students put in throughout the year, and then bring to this competition,” said Erika Cheney, Vice President of Career-Connected Learning at EmployIndy. “The career readiness skills and creativity on display here today point to a bright future for our workforce.” 

The Regional JAG Indy Career Development Conference is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their skills, with the top individual from each competition qualifying to attend the State JAG Career Development Conference taking place in March 2024. In addition to recognizing these students’ successes, five individuals were nominated by their JAG Specialist as outstanding senior candidates, an award recognizing select high school seniors who have gone above and beyond in community involvement and are viewed as leaders among their peers.  

“I’m thankful for everyone who supported me during this process. As I prepare for the state competition, l am committed to working even harder,” said Mariska Ogutu, outstanding senior from Ben Davis High School. Mariska was named Region 12’s JAG Outstanding Senior for 2024 and will compete for the top honor against the other eleven workforce development regions in the State.  

This year’s keynote speaker, NBA and WNBA Host/Emcee and Global Brand Marketer, Olivia West, shared inspiring words with students as she set the stage for an outstanding day of competition and collaboration. 

Indianapolis Deputy Mayor Judith Thomas also contributed greatly to the students’ experience with remarks and took the time to congratulate every winner at this year’s award ceremony. 

This event was also successful because of our sponsors, including Gold Level Sponsor WM who has generously supported the Jobs for America’s Graduates program in Marion County.