Scholars: New Assigments, A Review, And Ready for The Next School Year

It’s mid-July and classroom bells seem far away, at least to students enjoying the summer break.

But Charitable Words Scholars is laying ground work to connect students with nonprofits as interns and on service learning and special assignment projects for the 2013-14 school year.

Since the launch of its pilot project last fall, Charitable Words Scholars has connected 11 students with nonprofits in Greater Cincinnati and around the globe. Several more assignments are pending for summer and fall. Our goal next year is to double that number and scale up to do much more going forward.

Here’s a review of projects past and present and possibilities going forward:

New assignments:

Elese Daniel, a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s Journalism program, is on assignment this summer and be putting her video skills to use “capturing the essence of Cincinnati neighborhoods” for the Greater Cincinnati Business Alliance.

Neal Patrick, a University of Cincinnati senior, is assigned to Social Ventures Partners Cincinnati to work on media and marketing, including a video project to be shown on Fountain Square’s big screen.

Three Charitable Words Scholars will be assigned to work on marketing projects with the Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts.

Currently on assignment and alumni:

Daniel Funk and Kaytlyn Berry are assigned as camp counselors at Gorman Heritage Farm’s Summer Camp. Daniel will be a junior next year at Moeller High School. Katelyn, a graduate of Hughes Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) High School, is serving as a counselor for her second year.

University of Cincinnati Journalism students Brandie Potzick, Katelyn Exeler and Kelsey Kennedy traveled to Nicaragua over spring break with Serve Beyond Cincinnati to work on sustainable, clean water and education projects.

UC Junior Sarah Jernigan interned with the East End Adult Education Center as a tutor for General Educational Development (GED) preparation and job and career counseling.

Tia Garcia, a UC Journalism student and multimedia editor of The News Record, was assigned as a Charitable Words Scholar with Melodic Connections, which provides music therapy to special needs students and adults

Richard Elliott, director of the Cincinnati-based Village Life Outreach, was a Charitable Words Scholar leading a UC Honors course group to East Africa to produce a documentary, “Telling True Stories in Tanzania” about Village Life’s work.

UC Communications student Sarah Carpenter interned at Social Venture Partners, working on web site maintenance, social media and marketing strategies.

Assignments available

Internships are available at The University of Cincinnati’s McMicken College of Arts and Sciences and The Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University. Charitable Words will be working with other area colleges and high schools on formal programs.

But if you know of a student interested in humanitarian work or a nonprofit with jobs to be done, please contact tcallinan@charitablewords.com. Most of our matches and funding projects are born of initiative when students or nonprofits contact us directly. Charitable Words connects them.

There’s little red tape. It just gets done. We like it that way.

– Charitable Words, Tom Callinan