Pathways Internship Fund
Supporting Internships for Economically Disadvantaged High School Students in Northern Virginia
How The Pathways Internship Fund Works
We provide financial support, facilitate mentoring and offer other support to encourage internships for high school students whose circumstances prevent them from accepting unpaid internships.
We partner with local community organizations to identify students well-matched for our support and recruit mentors to guide these students, while working to continuously grow our database of available internships.
Why an Internship Fund?
Internships offer students an opportunity to imagine their future — and act on what they imagine — in concrete ways that are not otherwise available.
However, many students cannot accept unpaid or low-paid internships, and have a difficult time finding good internships. Our Internship Fund allows Pathways communities to nominate eligible students, provide mentors, and support young people inside and outside their community.
The Step-By-Step
How the process begins...
First, we work with other organizations (we call them Pathways Fund Partners) to recruit and identify students who would benefit from an internship funded by the Pathways Internship Fund. Then, we help each Partner recruit mentors from within its membership to work with the potential interns.
Once student and mentor are connected…
We maintain a directory of potential internships for Pathways Fund Partners and their mentors to review with potential interns. We also offer support to the Partners and mentors as the student applies for an internship.
When a student finds the right internship…
We award a grant to the student and help the mentors work with the student during the internship. We also encourage the mentors to continue a relationship with the student after the internship concludes.
How Immanuelites Can Get Involved
Recommend Interns
We’re looking for high school students in Northern Virginia who cannot take unpaid internships due to financial or other limitations.
Mentor a Pathways Fund Intern
We’re looking for adult members of Immanuel (including young adults) to help make a students’ internships a success.
Suggest Internships
Tell us if any employer you know (yours or others), might be willing to host interns. Send the flyer linked below to potential employers!
Identify Non-Profit Partners
If you’re involved in a DC area non-profit, consider whether it might be an appropriate partner in identifying & mentoring interns.
We encourage you to forward our Pathways Internship Fund flyer linked here to help us recruit employers!
Make a Donation
Donations have allowed us to fund internships for high school students — seven so far, and counting — providing them with new ways to imagine their future.
What the Students Say
What the Experts Say
“Many underrepresented students must work throughout high school and don’t have the luxury to accept unpaid internships. High school is a critical period for students to start exploring what they enjoy, identifying their career goals and mapping out a plan for achieving them.”
— Hechinger Report
“Financial barriers … often prevent low-income students from accessing high-quality internships, many of which are unpaid. These students may need a summer income in order to pay for college, leaving the career-rich opportunities that unpaid internships provide off the table.”
— American Association of Colleges & Universities
“Compensating interns frees them up to fully engage in a valuable workplace learning experience while being able to meet their basic needs. Internship programs empower at risk students to visualize college and career pathways they previously thought were unattainable.”
— Hechinger Report
Outcomes We Aim For
Experience that powerfully shapes a student’s thinking about his or her future.
Confidence from an internship to look at the future with a wider range of opportunities.
Connections offered by working closely with employers and other interns.
Relationships with mentors and employers that are based on finding meaning and purpose.
Thank You to Those Who Make This a Success!
Our partners are providing access to students who can benefit from internship funding, and mentors to guide our interns along their journey. Our donors support the Pathways Internship Fund, making this all possible. This program would not exist without their generosity.
Our First Partner
We partnered in 2020 with Communities in Schools of NOVA (CIS) to fund internships for CIS students at Wakefield High School. We also funded career guidance counseling for CIS students. Here’s how CIS works.
Our Donors
Immanuel uses an Endowment Fund to further the mission of the church by funding new ideas. The Pathways Internship Fund was launched with a 2020 grant, and was awarded a second grant in 2021 to fund an internship fair.
Parker Tide, a small business that offers careers to a wide range of people interested in working at government agencies, has been a regular donor since we launched our first Pathways program in 2017.
Chain Bridge Bank, N.A., a community bank in McLean, VA, expanded the reach of the Pathways Internship Fund with a generous contribution in early 2021.
Management of the Pathways Internship Fund
The Pathways Internship Fund is part of The Harraseeket Foundation, and operated by its Director, Liz Velander. Liz is supported by an Advisory Board and our Pathways Fund Partners.