Bank of America foundation gives internships

PROVIDENCE — The Bank of America Charitable Foundation awarded five high school juniors and seniors from Rhode Island eight-week paid internships this summer at local nonprofits through the Bank of America Student Leaders program.
Although the overall economy continues to show signs of improvement, youth unemployment remains at a record high. This holds true here in Rhode Island, where 10.8 percent of teens are neither employed nor in school, said Bill Hatfield, Rhode Island president of Bank of America.
That’s why Bank of America is focused on connecting young people to the education and training they need to succeed in the 21st century workforce, he said.
“These exceptional students learned valuable job and leadership skills while supporting the work of The Boys and Girls Club,” Hatfield said. “It’s a win-win situation that helps make our community stronger.”
Five students from Rhode Island participated, including:
Elmer A. Torres of Providence, a recent graduate of E-Cubed Academy High School; Paola Velez of Central Falls, a rising senior at Blackstone Academy Charter School;
And Michael Jimenez, a recent graduate of Providence Career and Technical Academy;
they all worked at the Providence Boys and Girls Club.
Also participating at the Pawtucket Boys and Girls Club were Richard Keach of Woonsocket, a recent graduate of Woonsocket High School, and Azzys Rodas of Central Falls, a recent graduate of St. Raphael Academy.
In July, these youth also joined more than 200 other student leaders from around the country for a week-long leadership summit in Washington, D.C., where they participated in skill-building workshops, a service learning project, sessions to develop better money habits and meetings with members of Congress.
The teen students worked as camp counselors at the clubs. They spent their days working with kids across a variety of ages, overseeing activities and building programs to teach the campers. For instance, one of this year’s student leaders developed a rugby league for campers, while another launched poetry classes for camp attendees. Another student leader realized that many of the kids at the camp came from single-parent families, so he took on more of an mentorship role with them, organizers said.

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