Temple Beth El Blog

This summer, with a generous $10,000 grant from the Jewish Federation of Madison’s Cheryl Rosen Weston Fund Community Grants, Temple Beth El’s Social Action Committee partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County (BGCDC) on a summer internship program for high school and college students who participate in BGCDC programs. The students were “matched” with Temple members at two private companies and four nonprofit organizations, where they worked approximately 20 hours each week for six weeks.

This project was designed to help address the gross racial disparities in Dane County and the entire state. Wisconsin ranks among the worst in the nation in terms of racial equality. From education to jobs and income to incarceration, these disparities are gaining increasing attention from activists and policy makers. The pandemic has exacerbated these disparities in family health, family employment, and household income. This has included increased disparities in youth education and a decrease in meaningful employment opportunities. 

Unlike the majority of youth at Temple Beth El, many of whom are white and from middle-class and upper-income families, the youth served by the BGCDC do not have the same access to summer internship and employment opportunities. Parents of low-income youth often do not have the “connections” to help their children network in the community to find summer jobs or meaningful opportunities that will expose them to a wide variety of employment situations, skills, and professionals. As a result, these youth face more barriers in completing their high school education, pursuing postsecondary education, and securing meaningful employment after graduation that will provide them with sufficient income to thrive. Unpaid internship experiences perpetuate inequality and exacerbate barriers of access and opportunities. We recognized the strong need for structured internships that pay a minimum of $15 per hour to provide low-income youth with real-world experience and opportunities to prepare them for future education and careers.

Like all of our committee’s work, this project was based on many significant Jewish values and teachings. Deuteronomy 6:7 directs us to “teach your children well,” and we believe that “your children” includes all children. Maimonides defines eight levels in giving tzedakah (charity), each one higher than the preceding one. Lower levels are those where donations are given grudgingly, less than one should, and/or only when asked. The highest forms are those that involve communal funds and are administered by responsible people. The very highest is exactly what this project did: help people before they become impoverished by offering to help them find employment or establish themselves (e.g., learn skills) so that they can become self-sufficient. See https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/eight-levels-of-charitable-giving. 

This project also recognized that the employers would learn from the fresh new perspectives and insights of the young students. This, too, is recognized in our tradition. Rabbi Hanina said: “I have learned much from my teachers and even more from my friends, but from my students I have learned more than from all of them.” And indeed, the reports from the six employers have made clear that they personally and their organizations’ missions benefited from the interns.

Let’s hear about it from some of the participants themselves:

Intern Desia Xiong was placed at Madison Youth Arts Center (MYArts) and was offered a part-time job there at the end of the internship. She wrote:

This summer internship at MYArts was incredible! I did a variety of things during my six weeks. I sat in many director meetings, helped brainstorm for the building's grand opening this fall, did some room set up for events, created many signs and documents for the building, created instruction manuals and managed the MYArts social media handles. I also was brave enough to give a tour or two of the MYArts building! Data entry was also a large part of the second half of my internship, learning how to use two scheduling programs and putting in reservations from one to another, as MYArts is still transitioning from one program to another. 
 
One of the most valuable things I learned while working at MYArts is the need for diversity in the professional world. Many of my previous jobs in the past have been in student support services for minorities at educational institutions, so I have not had or been exposed to many professional occupations that were dominantly Caucasian. It was invaluable for me to learn and understand how important and valuable my perspective and voice in any conversation can be. That being said, I also run a performance group of my own at Madison College and being a student leader of color to a small performing arts group was an incredible perspective to bring to the MYArts table. Jess and Courtney made sure to tell me that every day! I feel one of my largest contributions was giving the perspective of what a small independent user group would like from the MYArts space and community. This, and creating a variety of manuals, signs and instructions for the building were my biggest contributions.

Intern Leslie Hernandez, who worked at LIFT Dane (Legal Interventions for Transforming Dane), said:

I was able to learn and take part in researching about policies in different states, not only in Wisconsin. Throughout this internship I was able to create a LinkedIn page and connect with other staff. Also I was able to help create a storyboard for an informational video on their website. … I have been able to learn about new professional career paths and how to balance working and going to school at the same time. 

And the employers had only good things to say, too.

Casey Brown, who supervised intern Mario Cancasco at Frank Beverage Group, wrote: 

Mario was creative and provided us with an outside, young adult perspective that is very beneficial to our industry. I was incredibly impressed with how smart and ambitious Mario is. He was such a pleasure to work with, and he and I connected and worked together quite nicely. 

Michael Ross’s colleague who supervised Desia at Madison Youth Arts wrote: 

Thanks to Temple Beth El and the Jewish Federation for creating and supporting this great program, and letting us participate as a very young organization. We were especially lucky to have Desia as our summer intern, and were thrilled when she accepted the part-time job we offered her.

And Marsha Mansfield, Leslie’s supervisor at LIFT Dane, wrote:

The intern we hosted made valuable contributions to our work and it was great to have new voices and energy added to our work. Addressing racial disparities is core to LIFT's mission, so hosting a Boys & Girls Club intern was one way that we could show our support of their efforts while gaining the perspective and contributions of someone whose lived experiences differ from those of other LIFT partners. We also helped the intern understand how racial disparities show up in a variety of barriers (driver's license suspensions, criminal records, etc.) imposed on people of color by our society.

In addition to the six internships organized and supported under the grant, 17 TBE members graciously participated in a fun Zoom speed-networking event. Students throughout the BGCDC programs were invited to attend, and Temple members were put into “rooms” for the categories of health care, mental health and social work, nonprofit management, law, arts, and education. TBE members provided students with background on why they chose this career, how they prepared for it, their careers’ rewards and challenges, and advice on how to prepare for such a career. Students also had the opportunity to ask the professionals questions. In addition, we prepared a directory of 37 Temple professionals with background and contact information and invited the BGCDC students interested in virtual or live follow-up discussions to reach out.

Going forward, we plan to apply for another grant and expand our involvement in this incredibly valuable and successful program. We hope that this year’s six employers will sign on for summer of 2022 and that additional Temple Beth El members will explore hosting a summer intern as well. Temple member Howard Erlanger prepared an evaluation and report on the program. For more information or to receive a copy of the evaluation, please contact Betsy Abramson at betsyabramson@gmail.com or 608-332-7867.

Very special thanks to the Jewish Federation of Madison for the grant support and to our six Temple Beth El members and their host sites:

• Elizabeth Frank, Frank Beverage Group
• Amy, Marty, Molly, and Randy Fields, Books4School
• Marsha Mansfield, LIFT Dane
• Joe Loehnis, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra
• Michael Ross, Madison Youth Arts Center
• Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice

Yasher koach! May we go from strength to strength!