65 Houston Area Nonprofits Receive Much Needed Summer Help Thanks to ExxonMobil's Community Summer Jobs Program.

Houston Nonprofit Organizations Receive Summer Interns Through ExxonMobil's Community Summer Jobs Programs

HOUSTON -- ExxonMobil and Volunteer Houston announced the commencement of the 11th Annual ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program. ExxonMobil recognized the 65 participating agencies and the selected interns at a breakfast reception held at the Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas - BizTown. The program enables 65 full-time college students to gain hands-on experience and knowledge of the nonprofit sector, while lending a helping hand to the agencies during the busy summer months. The goal of the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program is to promote the importance of community service and cultivate future community leaders.

At the reception, ExxonMobil presented the third annual Volunteer Spirit Award to Patricia Rosenberg for her continuing support to area nonprofits through her volunteerism and advocacy. In addition, Peyton Robey and Stephanie Kirkpatrick, both former Community Summer Jobs Program interns and now pursuing full-time careers in the nonprofit sector, will receive the Community Champion Award.

As an ExxonMobil national program, the Community Summer Jobs Program in Houston began in 1998 with 25 nonprofit charitable organizations receiving summer interns. Today, the program has grown to 65 nonprofit organizations and college interns, respectively. Each college student will intern for eight weeks at a participating nonprofit where they will assist with the enormous workload during the agencies' peak season. During the eight-week internship, the 65 interns will participate in community service projects, network at lunch gatherings and attend a professional development seminar that will be held in July.

ExxonMobil provided grants totaling more than $195,000 for the interns' salaries and to assist Volunteer Houston with the administrative expenses associated with the program.

"As this program has grown over the years, it's been inspiring to see the number of college interns who ultimately pursue a career in the nonprofit sector," said Stephen Cassiani, President, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company. "ExxonMobil has a long tradition of giving back to the communities where we live and work, and this program not only helps nonprofits during a critical time of need, but strives to create a whole new generation of leaders who understand the importance of helping others," he concluded.

Volunteer Houston administers the program and assists in training the agencies on recruiting, interviewing, and selecting the intern, as well as how to organize and manage the summer internships. The interns are selected by the participating agencies and must be a full-time sophomore, junior or senior college student.

"We are proud to continue our partnership with ExxonMobil on the Community Summer Jobs Program," said Carrie Moffitt, executive director of Volunteer Houston. "The program brings the best and the brightest of our area future leaders to nonprofits."

Since the program began in 1971 in New York City, ExxonMobil has provided more than $8.4 million to support almost 4,000 community summer job internships in ten states, including Alabama, Alaska, California, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming, and internationally in Angola. In the Houston program alone, ExxonMobil has provided more than $1.3 million placing more than 500 college students in summer internships.