2018 Summer Interns from (clockwise from top left): Alexandria Housing Development Corporation, Community Preservation and Development Corporation, Wesley Housing Development Corporation and AHC, Inc.

HAND is pleased to announce that it supported four member organizations this summer by way of the Annual Internship Grant Program. This membership benefit assists eligible nonprofit and government members in bringing on interns for their organizations, and grants students meaningful exposure to various careers within the affordable housing and community development industry. At the end of the summer, members are awarded $1,000 matching grants to offset the costs of hiring interns. The program highlights HAND’s ongoing commitment to cultivate the next generation of community development leaders.

This year’s class of interns proved to be great assets to their hiring organizations, and each student walked away with valuable professional experience:

AHC, Inc.
Intern: Michelle Salinas, Liberty University
“Michelle was a huge asset to our College and Career Readiness program this summer and contributed to enhancing our ‘College Boot Camp’ we implement with rising juniors and seniors over the summer. She was able to connect with students on a personal level and participated on a teen panel and shared with students her college experience and how her first semester went. Michelle was able to get an overall picture of what it takes to run a comprehensive program with teens.”

Alexandria Housing Development Corporation
Intern: Matthew Rhodes, Virginia Tech
“Matt quickly felt like an integral part of our team. He was the driving force behind our annual resident survey, taking additional steps to refine and improve the survey and achieve the highest response rate possible. In addition, Matt was of assistance to project development, asset management, and grant writing endeavors.”

Community Preservation and Development Corporation
Intern: Douha Kalouda, George Mason University
“Douha Kalouda, a recent high school graduate and rising freshman at George Mason University, provided invaluable support to Island Walk’s Summer Learning Loss Prevention Program for first through twelfth graders, preparation for the 2018-2019 After School Program, and event coordination. Douha assisted in creating and disseminating information about resident services to residents, photographed events and activities, coordinated school supply donations for Island Walk youth, and managed youth volunteers to support these efforts. Douha’s efforts throughout the summer were an integral part to the success of these programs and activities, which support youth, adults, and the senior citizen population.”

Wesley Housing Development Corporation
Intern: Danielle Johnson, George Mason University
“Danielle provided our summer campers at Colonial Village Apartments in Arlington, Virginia with a unique experience. The children participated in field trips each week that highlighted concepts they learned about in camp. They researched and learned about various STEAM topics, and participated in story-times conducted by the local library. In addition to academic skill based programming, Danielle worked on self-regulation and social emotional learning skills with the children and provided anti-bullying training.”

You can learn more about the program and check out summer internship experiences from previous years here.