Cookie Cart provides teens 15 to 18 years old with lasting and meaningful work, life and leadership skills through experience and training in an urban nonprofit bakery. The first stop for Cookie Cart teen employees is our Bakery Program — the very foundation of our youth employment training. In this hands-on, job-training program, we teach essential employment skills to every teen coming through the Cookie Cart kitchen. Our Bakery Program takes a creative, engaged teaching approach to equip teens with fundamental job skills: -responsibility to manage their work schedule and themselves with appropriate workplace behavior and language -collaboration to take direction from managers and work together with peers -initiative to complete tasks and problem solve Young people who show responsibility and initiative are promoted to Cart Captain. In this role they take leadership in directing youth employee teams, training new youth employees and managing work assignments.