As 2021 comes to an end, so does our time with our first SPARKING Change Youth Leadership Internship program cohort. We want to thank each of you who donated to our inaugural year, last year. At the end of 2020, we raised $42,000 for this new program, and every penny went toward our #SparkingChangeInterns. Throughout 2021, they were able to gain a vital mental health education, become mentors to our at-risk youth population, work with the SPARK team at our county jails, detention centers, youth rehabilitation/residential facilities and Selah Freedom’s safe house for sex-trafficking survivors. In addition, they took part in a self-defense class to learn basic protection skills, spoke at a conference on mental health in the UK, attended an education conference for school counselors right here in Tampa Bay, contributed to our weekly #FindtheSPARK podcast, assisted us with daily tasks in the office every week and volunteered in several community events on our behalf!
Because of you, we also were able to host monthly mental health professional development days to explore the mind and uncover their potential and resilience. They also participated in the year-long Global Change Incubator with the IOS collective, where they had extra support in learning about the mind with a group of amazing change-makers from all over the world! Last but not least, our interns learned about their amazing SPARK inside that can never be broken, damaged or stolen and is always available to them at no cost. With this knowledge, they were able to discover their creative potential and have some incredible insights about themselves and our community!
SPARKING Change in the Juvenile Detention Center
Thanks to all of our donors, our #SparkingChangeInterns were able to shadow and work along with us in the many different youth facilities we go into. One being the Juvenile Detention Center in West Tampa. They were able to hear about real life experiences from our youth and help deliver the SPARK Mentoring Programs to young males, from ages 13-17.
Monthly Wellbeing Trainings
Through personal insights and discoveries from our monthly mental health and wellbeing trainings, our interns were inspired and excited to create their own community projects geared towards what they saw to be a disconnect in the world. Through this internship, they decided to create projects to bridge the gaps between two specific areas they were passionate about working in. One project being The IGNITE Program and the other is The CALM Blog.
The IGNITE Program is a follow-up system for individuals who completed the SPARK Mentoring Programs and wish to learn more about mental health, interested in extra mentoring, need resources for college, scholarships, job opportunities, shelters and/or other facilities they are seeking special support from. Our interns created this through insight and experience from working with youth in our community who have lingering questions about life and want guidance from a personal mentor.
The CALM Blog is another program our interns created that stands for Community Advocates for LGBTQIA+ Mental health. CALM is a blogging website that spreads factual information about mental illness and mental health care specific to the LGBTQIA+ community. They share research, personal stories, digestible graphics and more every Friday. They hope to help close the knowledge and access gap the community faces so that their mental health can thrive!
Through hard work, dedication, strong passion for change and balancing out their school schedule, personal life and jobs, they gathered together every month to work on and develop a project for a need they were inspired about addressing in the world.
National Mentoring Day
The SPARKING Change Interns also participated in the #NationalMentoringDay sharing why mentoring is important to them. Since our interns have had this opportunity to shadow our SPARK Mentors delivering SPARK Programs throughout the community, below are some pictures our interns captured expressing their personal thoughts about why they are a mentor.
Intern Self Defense Class
The SPARK Team found it crucial to take the #SparkingChangeInterns to a Self-Defense Class at the Wolfpack Brazilian Jiu Jitsu martial arts school. Sharing this knowledge with our interns is important because working with human trafficking survivors and Florida being ranked 3rd in the US in human trafficking cases, a self-defense class is the least we can do to protect our community’s young people. Another thanks to our donors for allowing us to make this happen.
Giving Back to the Community
SPARKING Change Interns were able to work in the Tampa Bay Community and beyond, giving back to other organizations by volunteering their time and energy, making donations of masks and hand sanitizers & #SharingtheSPARK at local educational conferences with school counselors!
Although it is bittersweet that the 2021 SPARKING Change Youth Leadership Program is coming to an end, this year was so successful, we decided to do it again.
Our SPARKING Change Internship for 2022 is just around the corner and we are kicking off our end of the year fundraiser on November 29th through December 17th! Only this time, our interns are running the show! They have designed this year’s fundraiser for the next years cohort and we are so excited to see the support they receive.
This fundraiser will help support a new cohort with our fellow interns, allowing them to take leadership and work with our 2022 SPARKING Change Interns! Our new goal is to raise $60,000 for another successful leadership program. Be sure to follow us on social media to see our silent auction, online trivia and power hour prizes. We have a lot to give away this year!
If you already know you would like to sponsor one of our 2022 interns, you can do that now! Sponsor an intern for a month or for the whole year! Click here to sponsor a SPARKING Change Intern!
We can’t say it enough, THANK YOU to all our supporters who believe in sharing mental health, uncovering resilience, and unleashing potential to everyone! We love you all. Here’s to another amazing year and to our 2022 future #SparkingChangeInterns!