Standing fourth from left, Miranda Malinowski, Global Head of Recruiting for Facebook, visiting the interns at Carver to share career advice and guidance. Janine Smith is standing first right.
Long-time Carver volunteer and donor (and former Carver board member), Janine Smith of New Canaan, recruited interns from New Canaan High School to assist Carver in accomplishing important projects over six weeks.
Janine is working with the group of interns as part of their high school senior year volunteer project. They began on May 22. They are working on their Carver projects 5 days per week. The program ends on June 20.
The interns are divided into three teams of three with specific projects assigned. (1) Plan a weekly "Friday Fun Day” for CASPER students and facilitate the activities each Friday from 4PM to 5:15PM. They determine the hands-on learning activities and all the supplies and logistics for K-5th grade students. (2) Create a Carver Alumni Association. Research best practices and launch the initiative primarily on Facebook to reach alumni over the 80 years of Carver's existence. The Carver Alumni association will support Carver's goals and strengthen the ties between alumni and the community. (3) Design and raise the money needed to refurbish the playground at the Carver Community Center.
Here is an article in Newcanaanite.com about the program, and an excerpt below from this article that features the Carver interns.
To intern Grace Brady, who works at the Carver Center in Norwalk, that made all the difference.
“I wanted to do this internship because I am able to directly give back to the communities surrounding New Canaan, and see its impact on a personal level,” Brady said. “I wanted to see if nonprofit work was something I’d be interested in in the future.”
She is working alongside nine other interns at the Carver Center, where they are tasked with three main projects—restoring the playground, creating an alumni association, and planning ‘Friday Fun Days.’
Since its debut in 2011, SIP has been received very well by participating employers. New organizations, such as the Carver Center, are seeing for the first time how high school interns can benefit their cause.
“I am thrilled to have nine dynamic, intelligent seniors interning with me to promote our mission of building lifetime achievers and helping kids with the most challenges graduate,” Director Janine Smith said.