As a Summer 500 intern with Step Up Savannah, DeAndre learned a variety of skills and life lessons. Over the course of the summer, DeAndre became a valuable member of our team.

DeAndre busy behind the computer

During our poverty simulation, DeAndre was assigned the role of an adult. He worked with his other “family members” to navigate the new terrain, including the locations of school, work, and where to pay the bills. The simulation represents one month, with each week being only 15 minutes long.

DeAndre quickly experienced how easy it can be to fall behind on housing costs, and his family was soon evicted. They struggled to pay for food for several weeks. They were also frustrated with the time required to wait in lines to apply for jobs and benefits. Their time was precious and they were suffering. At the end of the simulation, DeAndre and his pseudo family members were told that this type of life is not uncommon and that more than a quarter of individuals in Savannah face this reality every day.

During his last few days at Step Up, we spoke to him about his thoughts on poverty. He shared with us, “a lot of people go through it and it’s not something to take lightly”. Based on his experience, DeAndre felt compelled to design a Step Up mascot as his final project.

When asked what he gained from Step Up, DeAndre said he learned “some new tech skills, word excel, Photoshop, a little InDesign, Office, and PowerPoint.” DeAndre presented his final project with these new skills, through Photoshop, Microsoft Office, and PowerPoint.

As a part of Summer 500, the students were encouraged to join a Step Up supported bank or credit union. As a part of this process, the students signed up for direct deposit. For most students, this was their very first paycheck and bank account. For DeAndre, that was also true. With his very first paycheck and direct deposit, he began saving. We asked him if he saved any money from the summer, and how he saves money, “yeah. I have both a savings and a checking account” he answered. He mentions that he automatically puts a portion of his check into savings.

After he saved some, he wanted to treat himself with coffee and ice cream. His long term savings goal is to visit France and Morocco.

DeAndre with Robyn during the Summer 500 Kickoff

DeAndre is going to be a Junior at Jenkins High School.

By Samantha Kosters  

I chose to become an AmeriCorps VISTA because I needed an opportunity to gain more experience in the field I wanted to go into. I was still living in Tallahassee Florida a year after graduating from Florida State with my degree in History. I couldn’t give up on pursing a job at a museum/nonprofit. That’s what I wanted my career in. Currently, I was volunteering at Goodwood Museum & Gardens. My duties encompassed a little bit of everything from giving tours and coordinating volunteers to assisting at large events. For sometimes up to 30 hours a week I was at the museum while also balancing 2 part time jobs at a big retail chain and local fast food shop just barely getting by on minimum wage. The museum just couldn’t hire me because they didn’t have funding to provide jobs.

My cousin was currently serving as a VISTA and I learned more about the program from her. After some research I realized that this was the perfect opportunity for me to get paid while also enhancing my skills and resume. I applied to a few positions focused on fundraising and grant writing and within a few weeks had signed up to be Georgia Legal Service’s VISTA!

Samantha at Georgia Legal Services

At Georgia Legal Services, I learned how important it is was to be a VISTA members. A nonprofit like GLSP really benefits from having a VISTA in their Savannah regional office because they now have a staff member completely dedicated to fundraising and attending outreach events in the community. Our legal aid office is so important to the low income residents of Savannah who need legal assistance when it comes to government programs like food stamps, Medicaid, and social security. We also provide services for power of attorney, advanced directives, and wills. In Savannah specifically, I was able to spend a considerable amount of time managing the GLSP Facebook page.

One of my biggest successes as an AmeriCorps VISTA was writing and receiving my very first grant! I received money from a Savannah foundation that allowed GLSP to purchase a flat screen smart TV with the necessary technology to allow our attorneys to communicate with clients who live in further away counties. The TV is also used when our office has meetings with presentations. It was a necessary technological advance that our office was lacking.

Position: Fundraising and Communications Intern

Description: Step Up Savannah seeks a dynamic, self-starter to assist with fundraising and communications efforts. This internship is an excellent opportunity to experience various aspects of marketing while working for well-known community based nonprofit organization.

Responsibilities:

• Assist with Step Up’s social media presence, including scheduling updates
• Draft, distribute and pitch news releases, media alerts, and other stories
• Collaborating with staff on new ideas, directions, and venues for marketing and communications
• Updating Step Up’s Working Families Network directory
• Interview social service agencies that participate in Step Up’s Working Families Network
• Interview past graduates of the Neighborhood Leadership Academy
• Write client stories for marketing efforts
• Supporting creation and dissemination of Step Up’s annual appeal
• Maintaining donor and grant databases and files, including calendaring deadlines, logging donations, generating and sending donor acknowledgments, logging donor appreciation efforts
• Assisting staff with grant application writing and tracking
• Supporting staff with logistics associated with special events, including assisting with creation of invitation list, all logistics, soliciting sponsors, communicating with venue and vendors

Qualifications:

• Firm grasp of available tools and platforms in the social media space
• Completed or working toward a college degree, preferably in a related field (e.g., English, Marketing/Communications, Public Administration, or Public Relations)
• Previous internship or related experience in marketing or communications is a plus
• Must be computer literate (working knowledge of word processing, PowerPoint, Excel).
• Proficiency in Adobe InDesign and Photoshop a plus
• An effective communicator, both written and oral
• Ability to communicate in a professional manner with press and community contacts
• Self-motivated, good organizational skills, detail-oriented, ability to prioritize, multi-task and meet deadlines
• Possess an interest in a nonprofit career ‐ particularly development and fundraising
• Enthusiasm for the mission of Step Up Savannah

Start Date: Position open until filled, requires 3 – 6 month commitment. Hours: 8 – 12 hours/week, preferably twice a week in the office. Up to 4 hours can be completed at home.

Compensation:  This is an unpaid position.  There is opportunity for school credit if allowed by the college/university of applicant.  Position offers an excellent opportunity to work on substantive projects and can result in a great reference.

To apply: E‐mail cover letter, resume, and writing sample to Director of Development & Communications – Kate Blair kblair@stepupsavannah.org with a Re: line of “Application for Development Intern”

Step Up Savannah is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, age, national

Step Up Savannah, Inc. engages all sectors of the community to improve the economic mobility and financial stability of families in Savannah, Chatham County. To learn more, visit the website www.stepupsavannah.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @stepupsavannah

Chatham Apprentice Program Coordinator

Location: Step Up Savannah, 428 Bull Street Savannah, GA 31401

Posting Start Date: 07/27/2017

Posting End Date: 08/02/2017

Salary: $16.34-$26.97

Job Summary: Under direction of the Program Manager, the Coordinator is responsible for recruitment of participants from the high poverty census tracts with special attention to low income, under employed, unemployed and high-risk populations. Maintains full and accurate records and reports on participants, training sessions and distributes as required and directed. Enters data/ participant records into the database system, reviews and analyzes reports. Interfaces and builds business relationships for participants as directed. Provides follow-up tracking on all participants at regularly defined intervals. Participates in program planning/ assessment/ progress meetings with Manager, training team members and others as requested. Interfaces with Savannah Technical College, local community centers and partners, etc. for CAP participants. Provides some administrative duties and supportive tasks as needed for a participant to successfully complete CAP, including special events as they occur. Performs other work as requested by Program Manager.

Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in human resources, management, business administration or related field, supplemented by at least three (3) to five (5) years’ experience in working and proving record of placement with “high-risk adults.” Case management and coaching concept is a plus. Possess good communication skills and must have excellent computer skills: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. Must be able to perform in stressful situations and exercise good judgment. Must be able to enter the local detention center for recruitment.

I choose to become a VISTA because I wanted to gain more experience working at a non-profit and to give back. I also wanted to continue exploring public service positions. I had just finished my 10-month service term in another AmeriCorps program NCCC-FEMA Corps Member where I served all over the country and I enjoyed that work,  but I wanted to get a different experience with another AmeriCorps program that would focus on my home state. Both my experiences in these different AmeriCorps programs while completely different have been once in a lifetime experience and have taught me how to be an engaged and active citizen.

For small nonprofits like CCCS and others in the Savannah Area, VISTA’s are essential for bringing in capacity building resources such as volunteers and new fundraising methods but also new ideas and new technologies. In all the nonprofits I have worked or interned at, people working there usually have multiple roles. As a VISTA we are able to come into an organization as a resource and focus on important organization things that may otherwise not have top priority and really add to the continued sustainability of that organization. This is something I have seen being done being done by my fellow VISTA not only in the Savannah but around the country as well.

The best thing about working for Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCCS) was working with people who are truly passionate about their work and the impact that they have in the Savannah Community.  While working at CCCS, I was able to see how invaluable having a non-profit money management and financial education service is to the citizens of Savannah. I have been able to do outreach in the community and truly feel that I have made a difference in a person’s life by recommending CCCS services, because I had seen firsthand how people had been helped by CCCS services.

The two successes I am the proudest of is the CCCS website and fundraiser. I would say a big success was updating the website to make it more functional and easier to maneuver for clients. The fundraiser was another because it was the first fundraiser like that done at CCCS and in 5 hours we raised over 700 hundred dollars.

     The Summer 500 program has kicked off this year with hundreds of Savannah/Chatham County youth working in summer internships. Hundreds of young adults have entered the workforce for the first time. Summer 500 gives these teenagers a chance to understand and build their financial awareness. For the majority of the students, this will be their first paycheck ever. During the first week of the program, the students took classes focused on workplace safety, workplace communication, and financial education.

     The students are urged to have a bank account and utilize direct deposit as a safe and convenient way to receive their paychecks. This program has partnered with the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund’s Summer Jobs Connect (SJC) initiative in an effort strengthen the integration of banking access into the Summer 500 program. Step Up issued a request for proposals for financial institution partners using the SJC youth account standards. Two institutions were chosen as the official partners of the Summer 500 for their ability to create special accounts that met the national standards. South State Bank and Members First Credit Union have designed special accounts that do not offer overdraft, are non-custodial, and can be opened off-site (among other features). Both institutions were able to be present at the Summer 500 orientation to open accounts and present financial education topics. South State Bank and Members First Credit Union have recognized that this type of account in imperative for young adults entering the workforce for the first time. Since the kickoff of Summer 500, there have been 151 accounts opened for participants, with many youth opening both checking and savings accounts.

     Step Up looks forward to building upon these relationships and learning from the experience this year to further increase the integration of banking access into the program next year.      

Chris, a Summer 500 student shares his plans for his first financial goal.

    The CFE Fund’s twitter campaign has a competition every week and awards three individuals with prizes. CFE will distribute amazon gift cards and even an iPad during the Summer Jobs Connect program. During the first week, a student from Savannah was one of the first chosen for a prize. See Chris’s entry and plan for his first paycheck here. You can learn more about Summer Jobs Connect here.