Watertown Community Foundation
Nurin Jeslina Mohd Nazri and Andrew Hayek are participating in the Teens for Trees program, and are getting paid through the Watertown Community Foundation.
The Watertown Community Foundation provided the following piece:
The days of lolling at the town pool are just a memory for this year’s Watertown High School internship awardees. No sooner had school ended than students began rolling up their sleeves to:
• dig in the community gardens
• teach acting skills to youngsters
• learn the legal profession
• perfect their presentation skills
• spend one-on-one time with seniors
• measure trees in town
• greet hospital patients and their families
Watertown Community Foundation
Yeraz Kaligian is an intern at the School Gardens, an internship sponsored by the Watertown Community Foundation.
In 2015, when the Watertown Community Foundation and the Watertown High School Guidance Department launched this unique summer internship program for our town’s high school-age students, we had no idea how quickly it would grow! From just five students in 2015, it has nearly tripled to a record 13 students in the program this summer.
Watertown students find an internship that can provide them with meaningful work experience. They commit to working 120 hours over the course of the summer and are paid a stipend at the end of the work experience. Co-created by WCF Board Member Lora Sabin and WHS guidance counselor Adrienne Eaton, the program is designed to offer work experience and skills development, provide an opportunity
to explore a prospective career path, increase responsibility, and enhance confidence.
Kira Peterson, one of the first five 2015 interns, described her experience at Boston’s North End Music Performing Arts Center: “I learned so much from participating… . This opportunity pushed me to be innovative in finding an organization to work with that would allow me to learn while making a
difference in the community.”
Watertown Community Foundation
Crystal Yapoudjian helps residents atthe Brigham House play bingo as part of her internship set up by the Watertown Community Foundation.
Keep an eye out this summer for these young ambitious interns. For questions, please contact Jan Singer at jan.singer@watertownfoundation.org.
The Watertown Community Foundation, a public, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, works to build and sustain a vibrant, close-knit community in Watertown – now, and for future generations. To accomplish this, WCF raises funds from individuals, families, businesses, and foundations; awards grants to non-profits and community projects; and builds networks of donors, grantees, program participants, and stakeholders.