Summer interns enjoy helping the community at Wilmington nonprofit

Obtaining a summer internship is a mark of prestige for any student – particularly if it’s a paid internship during the Great Recession.

For five local students working at the Latin American Community Center this summer, the experience they are obtaining is just as good as money.

“It’s nice to get paid, but the same time I’d work at the LACC for free,” said intern Emily Spiegel, 17, a Brandywine Hundred resident and rising senior at Mount Pleasant High School. “I might not have said that coming into the job, but … the big idea is giving back to the community.”

The LACC is in Hilltop, a tough neighborhood that is part of the Westside of Wilmington. The nonprofit’s mission is to assist families with “resources and programs that promote empowerment and an enhanced quality of life.”

The interns are at the LACC through the Bank of America Charitable Foundation's signature philanthropic program, the national Neighborhood Excellence Initiative. The initiative selects five high school students in 45 markets for the paid internships.

Bank of America’s internship program aims to provide workforce opportunities to teenagers during these difficult times, said April Birmingham, Delaware Market manager for Bank of America. It is also an investment in leadership and revitalizing communities, as well as developing a culture of global service.

“It gives them leadership experience – understanding what it takes in the community to make it thrive, what businesses’ and government’s roles are and how everyone works together for the strength of a community,” Birmingham said.

Since 2004, Bank of America has invested more than $7 million in the Neighborhood Excellence Initiave's internship program nationally, she said. It came to Delaware in 2006.

The Wilmington interns had three choices as to where they could go and all five chose the Latin American Community Center, an honor Executive Director Maria Matos called humbling.

In addition to Spiegel, the interns are Catherine Jones, 17, of Newark, a rising senior at The Tatnall School; Alice Miao, 17, of Brandywine Hundred, a rising senior at Brandywine High School; Jimmy Petka Jr., 17, of Wilmington, a rising senior at Cab Calloway School for the Arts; and Ivette Planell-Méndez, 18, of Newark, a recent graduate of The Charter School of Wilmington.

Ana Velasquez, community awareness coordinator, said the LACC interns have worked with everyone, from maintenance on up to Matos, attending a board meeting in the process. And they’ve shown initiative, Velasquez said.

“They saw a need for art supplies. Nobody told them,” she said. “And they now are doing a fundraiser [pancake breakfast] for the summer camp. They’re very passionate and I’m so proud.”

Among other things, interns went around neighborhoods for the “Delead Delaware” project that aims to screen and remove lead from Wilmington homes, using drawings of Pedro the Penguin and a gray blot called Larry Lead to teach families and children about the toxic metal.

They also went around to encourage people to participate in the HIV prevention and outreach program – a free and confidential test.

Despite being in a tough neighborhood, students said they have encountered no hostility as they carry out their work.

“I think people really respect the LACC and appreciate what they do,” Planell-Méndez said.

Planell-Méndez is bound for Cornell University, where she will major in engineering physics. But before she goes, she wants to share her passion with the LACC.

“Being here has really inspired me to use what I learn,” she said. “For example, I’m working on a program for math and science here – using what I love to do [to] help the community.”