Internship Initiative at Harcum College

Bryn Mawr, PA – April 13, 2015 – To promote real work experience for students prior to graduation as an effective training ground for today’s workforce, Harcum College is taking part in a new program to benefit students and employers, the Talent Growth Initiative (TGI), in partnership with I-LEAD and Ashoka.

TGI aims to influence workforce development practice to become increasingly demand-driven, where employer hiring needs are the starting point. I-LEAD and Harcum are one of only six training partners across the nation selected to participate.

All initiative participants are required to complete a minimum of 40 hours over 10 weeks interning in professional settings. Upon successful completion of requirements, students will receive invaluable real world experience, a personalized letter of recommendation, and a Civic Engagement commendation to be conferred during commencement.

“Harcum has hundreds of students across the Philadelphia region who would like to gain professional work experience,” said Danyele Dove, Director of Career and Transfer Services. “The kinds of opportunities students can obtain through the TGI program will look great on a resume. It will also help them expand their professional network.”

“We are sincerely interested in speaking with organizations and businesses who have unpaid internships to offer to current college students,” Dove said.

Businesses and organizations seeking volunteer interns should contact Danyele Dove, Director of Career and Transfer Services at Harcum College at ddove@harcum.edu or Cynda Clyde, TGI Program Director, at cclyde@i-leadusa.org.

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About Harcum College
Harcum College, one of Pennsylvania’s first independent, two-year colleges, was founded in Bryn Mawr, PA in 1915 and was the first college in Pennsylvania chartered by the state to grant associate degrees. Harcum offers fully accredited, career-ready majors in nursing, the allied health professions, business and social sciences on campus, online, and regionally, as well as lifelong learning programs and corporate training. It will celebrate a year-long 100th anniversary beginning in January of 2015.

About I-LEAD
With offices in Valley Forge, Philadelphia, and Reading, Pennsylvania, the Institute for Leadership Education, Advancement, and Development, Inc. (or I-LEAD) is a Pennsylvania nonprofit organization with 501(c)3 status that has served as a force for community leadership development since 1995. David Castro is the President of I-LEAD and its Chief Executive Officer.

In 2005, I-LEAD partnered Harcum College to enable qualified students to receive an accredited Associate Degree in several academic majors. By approximately 500 students attended degree granting programs at several community campuses throughout Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia, Chester, Reading, Coatesville, and Upper Darby. More information is available at http://i-leadusa.org.

About Ashoka
Ashoka is the first and largest global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, and the pioneer of the social finance and social entrepreneurship movement — investors and entrepreneurs with system-changing solutions that create lasting impact on the world. Ashoka’s greatest contribution to society is its effort to enable everyone to become a changemaker, the most critical ingredient for success in every human grouping, from a school to a company to an entire country. Ashoka operates in 70 countries and online atwww.ashoka.org.