DENVER, CO--(Marketwired - Feb 5, 2015) - The Colorado I Have A Dream® Foundation (CIHAD) is again sponsoring its Work is Success Internship Program (WISIP) for high school students. Now in its fourth year, the WISIP initiative prepares and places gifted and talented youth in a 6-10 week summer internship.
Since its founding in 1988, CIHAD has impacted the lives of more than 650 at-risk Colorado boys and girls, who are affectionately called Dreamers, through mentoring, academic enrichment services, social-emotional supports, life skills development, global cultural exploration activities, experiential learning, community service projects, internship and corporate networking experiences, collegiate coaching, and tuition assistance for higher education. Dreamers are selected and adopted in kindergarten and are provided these services up and through post-secondary pursuits.
This year, 63 high school Dreamers will participate in summer internships with some of Denver's top small businesses, corporations, law and medical offices, higher education institutions, and government agencies. The main goals of WISIP are to provide students with an opportunity to gain firsthand experience in the workplace, create and expand professional and social networks, and expand industry knowledge.
"Throughout the next few months, Dreamers will participate in a series of work readiness trainings that will focus on the skills and knowledge identified as critical to a successful performance in the 21st century workplace," said Stephanie Costner, CIHAD vice president of programs and evaluation. "Topics include industry outlooks, character development, soft skills, time and project management, digital literacy and financial literacy. After the Dreamers successfully complete the work readiness trainings, they will review the 2015 WISIP internship placements, submit an application, and participate in interviews with potential employers."
The 2015 internships will begin the week of June 8 and end the week of August 10.
"My company, Intertech Plastics, signed on to be a partner with this program because we understand the critical role local business plays in workforce development," said Intertech CEO Noel Ginsburg. "Our vision at Intertech is to 'mold a better world, one part, one person, one community at a time' and the Work is Success Program at the Colorado I Have A Dream Foundation helps us achieve this. The success of the community helps determine the success of our company so we are committed to working with area youth to ensure that we have a steady stream of talent to progress our company."
On Thursday, February 26, CIHAD will host its inaugural Work is Success Corporate Sponsorship Breakfast from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. at the Hampton Inn & Suites, Denver Downtown-Convention Center. Emily J. Curray, Stern & Curray managing partner, will be the keynote speaker. In addition to an overview of WISIP, including its talent development model, placement criteria and corporate sponsorship model, guests at this free event will have an opportunity to meet Dreamers who are previous WISIP participants and will hear from partners who have sponsored a Dreamer intern.
To learn more about the Work is Success Internship Program, or to RSVP for the February 26 breakfast, visit www.wisip.org, or contact Stephanie Costner at 303-861-5005/scostner@cihadf.org or Marius Finch at mfinch@cihadf.org. For more information about CIHAD, visit http://www.cihadf.org.
