"We had the chance to meet with numerous students, many who were interested in our work. It was so sweet, our SSU volunteer from last year came by wearing our t-shirt! Congratulations on a successful Service and Internship Fair." Cynthia Calmenson, Integrative Medical Care Foundation
Every fall semester, the Service and Internship Fair provides the opportunity for students to walk away with a new internship opportunity to help them prepare for the real world and also allows local non-profit organizations the chance to recruit interns to help drive their missions. The fair is a collaboration co-hosted by Sonoma State University's, Join Us Making Progress (JUMP) and the CCE.
This event brings many local community organizations to the Sonoma State University Campus. This year, 32 organizations came ready to recruit new interns, including agencies with priorities in sustainability, childcare, family support, hunger and homelessness, social justice, LGBT, health, and diversity. Over 150 students came eager and ready to find the right organization for them. "The Internship and Volunteer Fair was definitely worthwhile. I found many opportunities to explore internships with a variety of organizations and I came away with at least 4 internship options." Rosalie Gazzola, MA in Organizational Development student. Some organizations were even interviewing students on the spot. This year the event had great turnout with many students walking away with a new opportunity to serve and community partners equipped with students to help their organization.
The Fair's success is ultimately what it provides to the local community and students. It provides a place where students can find an organization that interests them and allows them to get hands on experience all while helping organizations connect with dedicated individuals who want to make a difference supporting their organization and the community while teaching students what they can't learn in a classroom. "We are promoting at SSU because we want our mentor relationships between members and SSU volunteers to move [teens] toward thinking about the possibility of college." Justin Atkinson, Volunteer Coordinator at CHOP's Teen Club,explained.
If you are a non-profit looking for volunteers or student interns and want to be a part of next year's Service & Internship Fair, please don't hesitate to contact us. If your organization missed this year's Fair and want to recruit SSU student interns, check out this blog post. Thank you to all who helped make this year's Fair a big success.
Check out more pictures from this event.