Now in its sixth year, the Jewish Family Service (JFS) Rabbi Gerald J. Klein Internship Program is now accepting applications for its six-month (from interview to completion) nonprofit management internship program. Designed to help participants gain knowledge of nonprofit leadership through hands on experience and core competency learning, it educates Dallas Metroplex teens about the missions and work of nonprofit agencies.
A lasting tribute to Rabbi Gerald J. Klein, who served for more than 50 years at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, the program celebrates passion and commitment to the issues of social justice. Open to all sophomore and junior students in the Greater Dallas area, interns are chosen through a competitive process involving a written application and in-person interview. Students are selected based on merit – without regard to religion, race or ethnicity.
Klein interns – who will be matched with advisers for both their summer agency work and their fall self-directed community projects – will earn a certificate of completion. The internship curriculum and project will focus on the following key areas: direct service, philanthropy, advocacy, community organizing, and social entrepreneurship.
"We are so excited about this new expansion because it gives young people both an in-depth experience working at one agency, plus exposure to the multi-faceted world of non-profits in general," says Beri Schwitzer, JFS Director of Volunteer Services. "We want young people to have this community knowledge as they move forward into their adult lives. We believe it will help them become better and more effective citizens—whether or not they choose careers in the non-profit sector."
The program has benefitted both the dozens of interns who have participated in the past five years and the agencies where they have provided service including Bea’s Kids, Contact, The Dallas Arboretum and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
