BATON ROUGE - Mayor-President Sid Edwards visited Gardere today to check on the success of the program "Invest In Yourself."

Invest In Yourself is an eight-week program that connects 18-to 24-year-olds to paid work experience and the documentation needed to pursue immediate employment, or to enroll in a two-year college. 

Today marked the halfway point of the program, which so far has a 100% retention rate, meaning all the participants remain actively enrolled. 

Participants have completed resumes, W-4 forms and enrollment in Baton Rouge Community College certification pathways, according to a press release. 

The program was started after a $50,000 donation was made by the Mayor-President's Office. 

"When we invest in our young people, we invest in the future of this city-parish," Edwards said in a prepared statement. 

During the second half of the program, participants will begin driver school, complete mock interviews and employer networking. 

The Gardere Initiative is one of the nine summer youth programs that received federal funds from the Mayor's Office of Community Development. 

"These young people are showing up every single day ready to work on themselves," Murelle Harrison, Executive Director of the Gardere Initiative, said.