What is Juma?
At Juma Ventures, we believe in the power of work and the potential of young people. All young adults should be able to grow and find success. Juma provides youth the opportunity to gain core skills, grow with their peers, and build a meaningful pathway to break the cycle of poverty.
That's interesting - tell me more!
Juma is a nonprofit social enterprise that operates businesses with the purpose of employing young people. We work with local, low-income youth in foster care and other risk factors, and through our YouthConnect program, we make sure they earn a paycheck, learn to manage their money and gain essential skills like responsibility, teamwork and how to communicate in the workplace. Ultimately, we connect them to their next job or educational opportunity. For more than 30 years, Juma has emerged as the nation's largest youth-led social enterprise directly employing over 500+ young people per year in four cities at various entertainment and sports venues. Juma expanded to Sacramento in 2016 and has continued to grow rapidly in the region ever since.
For young people from underresourced communities, early employment isn’t just a paycheck – it’s a pathway. Research shows that working during formative years, especially in trauma-informed, supportive environments like the ones Juma manages at Golden 1 Center, Hearth Health Park, Empress Tavern, and Toyota Amphitheatre, leads to stronger career outcomes, higher lifetime earnings, and greater community impact. Since launching in 2016, Juma Sacramento has employed over 700 youth who have worked 80,000 hours and earned more than $1.1 million in wages and stipends.
Despite the many challenges facing Juma youth, they also harbor significant strengths. They are resilient, positive and show great determination in pursuit of their goals, continually demonstrating tremendous promise and success when provided with opportunities to excel. That’s why Juma exists: to provide youth with the tools and resources they need to overcome barriers, maximize their potential assets, and engage in meaningful work experiences that will set them up for success throughout their lives.
For 10 years in Sacramento, our commitment to youth has opened doors and created pathways to career advancement and educational opportunities that have had a profound impact on our greater communities. With your support, we can continue to build connections and on-ramps to success for the next generation of Sacramento youth.
