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Summer Internships

Applicants

Project Transformation is a faith-based summer program for young adults who have completed at least their freshman year of college and are seeking a summer service internship in either Dallas, Texas or Denison, Texas, which is located about one and a half hours north of Dallas. The program is designed to offer young adults a hands-on opportunity to build lasting relationships with underserved children and youth, live in intentional community, experience cultural and socio-economic diversity, and explore various careers in service or ministry. Applicants should:

  1. Be highly motivated, self-starters
  2. Possess strong interpersonal and communication skills
  3. Enjoy working with children and/or youth
  4. Be open-minded
  5. Have a desire to love and serve others
  6. Be dedicated to living in community with other young adults in a structured environment.

Service Experience

There are two primary components to the Project Transformation internship experience:

Day Camp
During the summer program, Project Transformation interns work in teams of 9-12 team members, while serving in an eight-week summer day camp for 70 to 85 elementary children and youth. Sites are located in urban churches or at a local community center. Components of the program include: a one-on-one reading program, arts and crafts, music, recreational activities, and other activities in which the gifts and talents of the interns can be shared with the children. Interns have the option to participate in children/youth Bible lessons apart from their AmeriCorps service hours.

Career Exploration
Each Friday, interns are exposed to various vocational opportunities in service or ministry through guest speakers, field trips, and interactions with lay and ordained church leaders. Examples include visits to various United Methodist churches and institutions, such as Methodist Health System, UMR Communications, Justice for Our Neighbors, Perkins School of Theology, Texas Methodist Foundation, Methodist Children's Home, and more.

Through our affiliation with the United Methodist Church and not as part of the AmeriCorps program, Project Transformation offers the following options to interns:

Spiritual Development
Project Transformation invests in the spiritual development of each intern, opening their eyes to the needs and opportunities for ministry. The program will help the interns learn to build a community of support through worship, Bible study, and outside speakers. The interns may participate in a weekly worship session as well as short morning devotions each day before heading to the program sites. Interns are encouraged to examine their personal beliefs through intellectual and spiritual discussions.

Church Involvement
On Sundays, interns may choose to participate in worship and Sunday School at their site church with their team. This is an opportunity to connect the children that attend the day camp and their families with the church family. Through regular church attendance the interns can help generate a volunteer core with the congregation members to bring continuity to programs and relationships established over the summer. Also they will create a link between the partner churches and the churches that host the program by recruiting volunteers to read with the children that attend the day camp, collecting supplies for the program, and sharing the stories of their experience.

Specifics

  • The dates for this service experience are May 29 thru August 6, 2010. This includes one week of pre-program training, eight weeks of day camp, and either one week of overnight Urban camp at Bridgeport Camp & Conference Center or "Adventure Week" with elementary students in Dallas.
  • From May 29 through August 1, 2010, young adults will live in community in housing provided through Project Transformation. Dinners will be provided from Sunday through Thursday evenings, housing and meals are also provided during the week of Urban Camp at Bridgeport or Adventure Week in Dallas.
  • During their summer of service, interns cannot have commitments outside of Project Transformation, such as summer school or a part-time job.
  • The interns participate in a training week, beginning May 29, followed by eight weeks of day camp. During this time, participants live in community on campus at SMU or Austin College.
  • Sunday through Thursdays, interns must attend nightly dinners that are prepared by partner churches- this is a time to share the summer service experience with partnering volunteers. One night per week, the young adults can opt to participate in a group worship time. 
  • On Fridays, the interns explore different careers in service through a dialogue with lay and ordained leadership of various partnering non-profit organizations and United Methodist institutions.
  • Each week, Project Transformation interns may attend their site church as another opportunity to connect with the host congregation and families in the community.
  • At least once during the summer, the intern may speak to one of Project Transformation's partner churches about the summer service experience - this could be to a Sunday school group, the congregation, youth group, or other community partner.

In many ways working with Project Transformation in the summer program exceeds participating in a summer job and crosses into a summer life. The time expectations can be great, but the potential for personal rewards that come from this kind of commitment are even greater. While much is expected of each young adult leader, much is given in return in the form of love from the kids, support and fun from living in a community, and the energy that comes from making a real difference in communities that are often forgotten. You never really know how much you can receive until you truly give.

Time off
Friday afternoon-Sunday morning each weekend.

Compensation 
$2,500 living stipend- paycheck, $1,250 education voucher (issued by AmeriCorps after completed term of service and available to be used during/after the spring semester following the summer of service), and room and board.

Application Procedure 
Proceed by filling out and turning in the Application for Summer Service, then speak to your pastor and look at the Partner Church Letter of Commitment. 

After the completed application has been submitted, the Project Transformation office will contact the applicant to set up an interview.

Applicants should their send their completed application form and three completed Letters of Recommendation forms to the address below. A resume and cover letter are strongly recommended.