Self-Help interns pictured above: Brian Jackson, Robert Lang, Gregory Sabin, Theo Gandelheid, Kara DeFilippis. Catherine Miller, Gwen Barlow, Avieanna Dantzler, and myself Teree Willis.
Last week I was among nine summer interns in Durham, NC who spent a steamy summer afternoon volunteering for a local nonprofit called SEEDS. SEEDS maintains a two-acre garden classroom for young people who live or attend school in Northeast Central Durham. Part of their mission is to teach students to respect the earth and each other. This is done by growing, cooking and sharing food grown in the garden.
On a normal work day, we interns stay busy at Self-Help helping in areas such as Member Outreach, Development, Policy & Impact, Commercial Lending, Deposit Raising, Communications, Real Estate and Wellness. On this day, we left our desks and computers (and, yes, even our phones for a little while) to do some hands-on work to give back to the community.
Left photo: Asheville, NC interns Sapphire DeBellott (left) and Donovan Spencer (right). Right photo: Asheville intern Stefanie Pertiller (left) with a local client.
Some of our fellow Self-Help interns located in Asheville, NC also have been volunteering. Here is a statement from our Sustainability intern Stefanie Pertiller:
"Self-Help's Asheville interns went to several community outreach engagement events in public housing developments and educated youth on the importance of financial literacy and environmental stewardship. Another volunteer activity was harvesting cabbage, collard greens and kale from DeWayne Barton's Peace Gardens and Martha Jane Garden, and passing them out to elderly members of the Burton Street Community. We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity and for all of the relationships that were created as a result of these activities!"
All of these activities are consistent with Self-Help’s mission to expand economic opportunities for all. This summer we’ve learned there are many different ways to pursue that goal.