Interns help fill growing need for volunteers at Project C.U.R.E.

An organization in Houston that provides donated medical supplies and equipment to underdeveloped countries received a helping hand from college students who are giving up their summer vacations to serve those in need.

As part of the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program (CSJP), college students are spending time between semesters working with Greater Houston-area nonprofit organizations. A special community service project brought the college students together to work toward a common goal while providing much-needed support to Project C.U.R.E.

Thirty CSJP interns gathered at Project C.U.R.E. last week to help the nonprofit load medical equipment and supplies onto shipping containers that will be sent to families all over the world.

From women in Nigeria digging through a clinic’s trash in search of latex gloves to premature babies placed into Ziploc bags without sufficient infant incubators in Mexican hospitals, the need for medical supplies in other countries is dire. Project C.U.R.E. is on track to double its shipments, and volunteers are needed more than ever to help keep up with demand.

“Everyone has an opportunity to save a life at Project C.U.R.E., even without any medical experience,” said Katie Stephenson, ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program Intern at Project C.U.R.E. A biomedical engineering major at Texas A&M University, Stephenson is helping lead groups of volunteers who help the nonprofit run.

CSJP is an eight-week paid internship program that trains future leaders by introducing college students, who are recruited from across the country, to careers in the nonprofit industry. Interns get to see the inner-workings of nonprofits and gain experience for future careers, while the nonprofit organizations get much-needed help during busy summer months. The ExxonMobil Foundation funds the paid CSJP internships for 30 nonprofits across the Greater Houston area this year.