The Oneida County Summer Youth Employment and College Corps programs are taking place amid the coronavirus pandemic.

That includes providing interns to staff Utica parks and playgrounds.

There are currently 25 College Corps interns working at Proctor, Addison Miller, Seymour, O’Connor, Pixley, Quinn and Wankel playgrounds and at the Parkway Rec Center.

They’ll work a total of 200 hours at a rate of $12 an hour.  More interns are expected to be hired.

The county College Corps internship program has been partnering with local employers for more than 20 years and normally hires more than 150 interns per summer.

Participants are paid by a 50/50 split between the county and the employer.  About $80,000 is expected to be paid by the county for the program this year.

“With the options for youth employment diminished this summer and municipalities struggling to provide much-needed services to residents, we were happy to be able to provide the City of Utica with interns from our College Corps program that ensured its parks and playgrounds could safely open to the public," said Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente.

Meanwhile, the county’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which will kick-off on August 1st, is still looking for places to serve as worksites for local youth ages 14 to 18.

Organizations and agencies that want to participate can call (315) 798-5543.

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