We are a group of young professionals who began Young Modestans for Jobs because we saw a dire need in the city where we grew up. There's no doubting that.
Grassroots community organization working toward building a better Modesto through economic growth, responsible development, strong community bonds and better and more jobs. We also saw an opportunity: for ourselves, our children and the community that we love. Modesto has always been synonymous with agriculture; some of the richest, most fertile soil in the world resides here. But over the years
we've seen our city slowly begin to deteriorate, as rising unemployment has crippled our workforce, fed into rampant crime and taken away from our schools. Subsequently, our students, our children, our best and brightest are going elsewhere to look for jobs and pursue their careers. We are exporting our greatest assets because we cannot afford to keep them at home, where many would prefer to be. We see friends, classmates and siblings going to the Bay Area, Southern California and even out of the state to find a better career and essentially a better life. All of this because they do not see an opportunity at home. We need to afford them that opportunity. We need to invest in our future, their future and our city's and children's future. Bottom line is Modesto desperately needs jobs. We need to diversify our economy with an industry that isn't solely ag-based. Simply, we need to secure viable, freeway-accessible land that will attract a big employer. These prime employment centers are exactly what Modesto needs to become a competitive, vibrant city once again. The naysayers may point to us losing our way with this initiative; that we are becoming too "urbanized" with continued development. But is Patterson more developed than Modesto? Is Turlock more populated than our city? Has Tracy become more urbanized than our community here? No, of course not. But the difference with those cities is that they were able to secure a big employer, providing much-needed jobs for their residents and creating a very valuable tax revenue source and economic stimulator for their cities. We are not trying to eliminate farmland in the Valley. We just want an opportunity in Modesto, especially when we see it continually pass us by and fall into the laps of our neighbors. We are Young Modestans for Jobs. For our future and the generations behind us.
