Students taking part in FundingFactory's Virtual Internship met online to participate in discussions and develop and implement new ideas. The experience enabled them to increase their professional competence skills, learn decision making processes, take part in team building and gain confidence.
"Sharing through Virtual Intern communications gets you thinking and creating," said Christopher Figula, a senior who participated in the internship. "No matter how insufficient the idea might seem, it can spark the thought process in another, causing a creation of an idea."
This was the first year the Virtual Internship was offered, but the company behind the program plans to run it again this fall. FundingFactory is a fundraising through recycling program available without cost to educational and nonprofit organizations in the United States and Ontario, Canada.
"The purpose of the Virtual Internship program was to give high school students real-world experience in the inner workings of creative development, marketing strategy, implementation and execution," said Sean Michaels, FundingFactory General Manager. "In return, we hoped to gain valuable insight and feedback based on the students' own unique perspectives regarding the program. The intention was to use this market information to craft program features and benefits that would be more relevant and useful for FundingFactory participants."
Students in the Virtual Internship completed online polls and interacted with other interns and a FundingFactory administrator. They also created portfolios which described the intern's experience working with their organization's cartridge and cell phone collection. The most exciting part was that the interns could meet online from across the United States to discuss their own programs and ideas for improvement.
"I gained confidence in myself as a valued member of a work group and expanded my view of the world," said Brian Kadar, a junior in the internship program. "I developed professional competence skills and was able to make clear decisions about my education and career path. Overall the skills I have learned have made me more confident and prepared for my future. The leadership and work experience that I have gained will be very useful."
The success of the program was greater than expected.
"We were overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of the feedback we received from the interns," said Michaels. "They clearly took it seriously and seemed to appreciate that a company actually cared about what they thought."
Following the 2004-2005 term, students were chosen to receive scholarships based on their participation. This year's recipients of $1,000 each are seniors Justin Brown of New Bremen School District in Ohio and Christopher Figula of the WHS Graduation Ball committee in New Jersey; juniors Brian Kadar of Morgan Township High School in Indiana and Joseph Brown of PS 116 William Hughley School in New York; and sophomore Rebecca Lacy of Highland Baptist Christian School in Louisiana.
The scholarship winners were internship leaders, showing initiative in increasing awareness about their empty cartridge and cell phone recycling programs. Some of the students visited businesses. Others sent letters, wrote press releases, posted flyers in their community and more to gain additional support for their recycling programs.
High school students that would like to participate in Virtual Internship must be affiliated with a participant of the FundingFactory Recycling Program. To find out how to start earning through recycling and taking advantage of this and other great offers, visit www.FundingFactory.com or call toll free 1.888.883.8237.
Source: FundingFactory
CONTACT: Valerie Hammond of FundingFactory, +1-888-883-8237, or
valerie@fundingfactory.com
Web site: http://www.fundingfactory.com/