NC COVID-19 Student Response Corps Launches Its Third Year of Providing Help to Nonprofits, Local Governments | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH: Year three of the NC COVID-19 Student Response Corps is underway with nearly 100 internship opportunities across the state featured in the 2022 Response Corps Database. Current college students and recent graduates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible for these internships to gain valuable experience and provide needed help to local governments and nonprofits.

    "The Response Corps offers a way for students and recent graduates from across our state to provide key support to government and nonprofits, while gaining valuable experience to help launch their careers in public service," said Governor Roy Cooper.

    The program offers a wide variety of opportunities, including social media and marketing work for the Currituck Chamber of Commerce, bookkeeping for the Aurora Fossil Museum Foundation, and participating in urban agriculture efforts to address food insecurity with Growing High Point.

    The Response Corps started in 2020 as a virtual internship program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Internships are available in person and virtually, both part time and full time. The initiative is part of Governor Cooper's NC Job Ready effort to make sure North Carolinians are prepared for the jobs of today and tomorrow. The program helps strengthen the public service talent pipeline and prepares North Carolina's students for employment.

    With the onset of the pandemic, organizations faced new challenges and many talented North Carolina students lost summer internships and jobs. The Response Corps was created to address those issues and continues to help alleviate these concerns. One of its key features is a public database where students can learn about and apply for professional opportunities across North Carolina.

    In its first two years, the Response Corps placed nearly 180 college students in government and nonprofit internships. The interns have tackled projects from grant writing and research to community engagement and volunteer coordination.

    "NC COVID-19 Student Response Corps interns intrinsically added to our value through mentoring our kids, tutoring math and science, and improving our social media visibility," said Theresa Isibor-Davis of the International Center for Community Development. "Their impact has been invaluable due to the fresh perspectives they bring to our programs and community. They continue to support our organization even though the program has ended."

    Mohammadi Amena interned with the International Committee for the Promotion of Investment, Valorisation, Innovation and Employment (CIPIVIE), an international nonprofit focused on providing socio-economic, educational, health, humanitarian, and human development interventions to support vulnerable populations across the world, She found the experience valuable, saying, "I have not been able to get this hands-on experience before. I am now very excited to start the journey after knowing how CIPIVIE and this project will improve the lives of so many people - and how it can potentially save lives."

    The Response Corps is led by Lead for North Carolina and the NC Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP). Lead for North Carolina connects recent college graduates with high impact fellowships in local governments across the state. OSP facilitates government-research and government-philanthropy partnerships to support state agencies' efforts to bolster research capacity, strengthen the state government talent pipeline, and improve government policy and programmatic functions. Response Corps partners have included VolunteerNC, Hometown Strong, the NC Association of County Commissioners, the NC League of Municipalities, the NC Rural Center, and colleges and universities from across North Carolina.


    Contact: Jordan Monaghan

    Phone: (919) 814-2100  •      Email: govpress@nc.gov