Become an intern

From time to time, we are able to bring on interns from a variety of higher education programs such as social work, sociology, and psychology. Through internships, we can offer students hands-on experience working with the low-income community. This experience will help them understand the challenges and fulfillment of helping clients move from the most hopeless situations to self-sufficiency.

Students are exposed to nearly every aspect of the day-to-day function of a nonprofit community action agency. Interns can expect to be part of the team and do some job shadowing, along with direct client contact.  Activities and tasks may vary while working in different departments. Interns can go from answering phones or entering data to creative activities such as designing brochures or flyers. Interns might also serve as assistants for classroom activities, or even speak at events or information fairs.

We treat our clients with respect and dignity, and we expect no less of our interns. ESR learns intimate details of their lives, including the circumstances that have brought them to our door. We collect a great deal of personal and financial data. All of this information must be kept private, and to ensure that client rights are respected, interns are required to sign privacy documentation.

Internships at ESR never guarantee a full-time permanent position on the staff. Although we love to see our interns apply when staff positions open. Further, we welcome interns to volunteer with us if they have time they can share with us. Whether it’s for a single event or to work with a particular program they found enjoyable.

Internships are usually arranged through a student’s instructor or counselor, and that’s the best place to start. If your program requires internship or volunteer hours, but your instructor(s) leave the arrangements to the student, we can work with that as well. If you need assistance arranging an internship that your program has approved please contact Manya Stewart who can guide you through the process. Manya can be contacted at (336) 722-9400 x124 Monday through Thursday or via email at manya.stewart@eisr.org.