Nineteen students awarded paid summer internships
WINSTON-SALEM, NC (June 20, 2013) – The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is pleased to announce the participants of its 2013 Nonprofit Internship Program.
The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation believes it is important for college students to secure paid summer internships with nonprofit organizations in order to pave a pathway to future employment in the sector and offer a training ground for the next generation of nonprofit leaders.
In an effort to diversify the pool of aspiring, young nonprofit professionals, the Foundation’s Nonprofit Internship Program awards up to twenty students with paid summer internships and matches them with organizations the Foundation has funded across the state. The program also aims to expand opportunities for students to explore the nonprofit field, a sector that contributes more than 400,000 jobs to the state. Many internships in the nonprofit sector are unpaid, which poses a considerable barrier to potential interns, particularly first-generation college students who would be otherwise unable to gain valuable experience in this growing sector.
“We created this program to enable college students to gain exposure to careers in the nonprofit sector,” said Leslie Winner, Executive Director of Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. “By providing opportunities like this for students, we hope to address our concern about the prevalence of unpaid internships with nonprofit organizations as well as provide graduates with the credentials they need to better position themselves for a potential career within the nonprofit sector.”
Students are selected through a competitive application process. Eligible students must be enrolled in a four-year college or university full-time, a resident of North Carolina or attending an institution of higher education in the state and receiving a Pell grant during the academic year in which they submit the application. Host organizations – all of which are based in-state – must meet a set of criteria in order to participate.
This year, more than 32 organizations and 115 students from 27 schools applied. Internships offer a range of exposure and skill-building opportunities in the areas of research, community outreach, public policy, communications, fundraising and social media. The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation established the Nonprofit Internship Program in 2011.
Below are the organizations that were selected and their 2013 summer interns:
- Blue Ridge Forever, Autumn Ferrell, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Carolina Justice Policy Center, Bridget McDonough, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- CFED, Blanche Brown, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Core Sound Waterfowl Museum, Kristin Boling, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Crisis Assistance Ministries, Chianti Johnson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- Generations Community Credit Union, Vanvi Tran, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Hispanics in Philanthropy, Magdalena Perez Vicente, Wake Forest University
- NARAL Pro-Choice America, Elizabeth Morris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Nature Conservancy, Caroline Hansley, NC State University
- NC Center for International Understanding, Haram Jo, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- NC Coastal Federation, Victoria Grose, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- NC Community Development Initiative, Jill Ricks, St. Augustine’s University
- NC Housing Coalition, Marliss Platt, NC Central University
- NC IDA Collaborative, Jordan Budget, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- NC New Schools, Immanuel Bryant, Elon University
- Shelter Home of Caldwell County, Delana McCroskey, Western Carolina University
- Thirteenth Judicial District Domestic Violence-Sexual Assault Alliance, Inc., Lena Walshe, Western Carolina University
- UNC Poverty Center, Deshawna Kiker, Wake Forest University
- UNC Press, James Crowe, Emory University
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ABOUT THE Z. SMITH REYNOLDS FOUNDATION
The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (ZSR) is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all North Carolinians. ZSR invests in statewide, multi-county and community-based organizations that are dedicated to building an equitable, sustainable and vibrant state. The groups that the Foundation supports work to both build healthy, robust communities at the local level and engage in education, civic dialogue and advocacy around issues of importance to communities and to North Carolina. ZSR currently focuses on the areas of community economic development, environment, public education, social justice and equity and strengthening democracy. The Foundation is a 75-year-old private foundation based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. For more information, visit www.zsr.org.