Winners receive $1,000 awards for contributions to Dallas community through ExxonMobil CSJP
DALLAS – Salesmanship Club Youth and Family Centers and Brittney Titus, intern at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, were named Agency of the Year and Intern of the Year as part of the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program (CSJP).
The ExxonMobil CSJP, now in its 37th year nationally, pairs 75 undergraduate college students with local nonprofits for a paid internship. Agencies receive the benefit of a talented staff member during the busy summer months, while students gain real world experience, learn more about the role of nonprofits in the community and earn a paycheck.
Titus and the Salesmanship Club received their awards during the CSJP wrap-up celebration, where the 75 interns and agencies selected for this year’s program gathered to celebrate the end of a summer of community service. In addition to a silver award, each recipient was also presented with a check for $1,000. The Salesmanship Club will use the funds for support of its program serving at-risk children and families. Titus will use her $1,000 scholarship for educational expenses when she returns to Southern Methodist University this Fall. The Agency of the Year and Intern of the Year awards are given at the conclusion of the ExxonMobil CSJP each year, in recognition of outstanding participation and community impact through the program.
The Salesmanship Club was selected as the Agency of the Year for their development of an internship that enhanced the student’s professional skills while creating material of long-lasting impact for the organization. In addition to creating a superior internship experience, the Salesmanship Club also made mentoring their intern a priority and helped her create a portfolio of the work she completed over the summer. The Salesmanship Club was selected for the Agency of the Year award by a panel of judges, who evaluated information obtained during site visits at each of the 75 participating agencies.
Titus, a junior corporate communications and public affairs major at Southern Methodist University, was honored with the Intern of the Year award for her work as the Junior Volunteer Coordinator at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. During her internship, Titus supervised 65 high school volunteers, planning all aspects of their placements from training to activities, fundraisers and educational field trips. Although she originally wanted to pursue a career in event planning, she is now interested in working for a nonprofit agency because of her CSJP internship experience.
A panel of judges selected Titus as the Intern of the Year after reviewing nominations submitted by participating agencies. Nominations included information from each agency about the impact their intern made on the organization and the ability of the intern to exceed expectations set by their supervisors.
“We are excited to honor our award recipients for their outstanding participation in the ExxonMobil CSJP,” said Truman Bell, senior program officer for education and diversity, ExxonMobil Foundation.
“Today, Brittney and her fellow interns will leave the Community Summer Jobs Program with a unique appreciation of the nonprofit sector. Community service agencies, such as the Salesmanship Club, are vital in fostering this understanding. We congratulate all 75 interns and nonprofits for their hard work this summer, and wish the students the best of luck as they complete college and enter the professional world.”
Over the past eight weeks, CSJP interns have assisted their respective nonprofit agencies with a variety of tasks including client relations, volunteer recruitment, event management, grant writing and public relations initiatives. In addition to their internships, students also participated in professional development seminars and a group service project benefitting Davids’ Place Head Start and the Jubilee Community Center in the Fair Park neighborhood of Dallas. ExxonMobil supports the CSJP with a grant of $237,000, which funds intern salaries and program administration through the Volunteer Center of North Texas.
Since the program began in 1971 in New York City, ExxonMobil has provided more than $8.4 million to support nearly 4,000 internships in 10 states, including Alabama, Alaska, California, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming, and internationally in Angola. Since the Dallas program began 18 years ago, ExxonMobil has funded more than 1,325 internships with grants totaling more than $2.7 million.
About ExxonMobil Foundation
ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of the Exxon Mobil Corporation in the United States. The Foundation and the Corporation engage in a range of philanthropic activities that advance education, health and science in the communities where ExxonMobil has significant operations. In the United States, ExxonMobil supports initiatives to improve math and science education at the K-12 and higher education levels.
Globally, ExxonMobil provides funding to improve basic education and combat malaria and other infectious diseases in developing countries. In 2007, together with its employees and retirees, Exxon Mobil Corporation, its divisions and affiliates, and ExxonMobil Foundation provided $207 million in contributions worldwide, of which $70 million was dedicated to education. Additional information on ExxonMobil’s community partnerships and contributions programs is available at www.exxonmobil.com/community.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2008
CONTACT:
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Sunwest Communications
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