Southland Casino Racing, owned and operated by Delaware North in West Memphis, Ark., donated $25,000 to the city’s Mayor Summer Jobs Youth Empowerment Program on Monday, July 8, 2019.
The Mayor Summer Jobs Youth Empowerment Initiative is a program with a long-term objective to provide summer employment and educational skills to 100 youths to help them become ambassadors and future leaders for the city of West Memphis.
West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon’s program is designed as a six-week employment and educational campaign for youths in the city.
The mayor’s hope is that through this initiative, youths will learn a good work ethic and gain the necessary skills that will help them become more productive in the West Memphis community.
“We’re grooming the leaders of tomorrow today,” McClendon said. “We are going to keep them here and they are going to be our secret weapon to make West Memphis grow.”
The mayor rallied a group of students and their families on the city hall plaza earlier on July 8 where David Wolf, Southland’s president and general manager, presented the mayor with the $25,000 check to help underwrite the expected $100,000 in salaries.