Hosting a Diocesan CCHD Intern
Since 1999, CCHD has placed more than 250 interns in CCHD offices. In this capacity interns have assisted diocesan offices by:
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Promoting the Collection
Arranging for speakers in parishes
Preparing promotional materials
Creating a promotional DVD
Building Relationships with Funded Groups
Reviewing grant applications
Making site visits
Working on site with groups
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Educating Catholics
Assisting with Journey to Justice
Coordinating the Youth Arts Contest
Making presentations to groups
Connecting with college campuses
Publicizing the Poverty USA Campaign
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The national CCHD office provides grants for a number of paid summer, fall and academic year internships for Catholics in the United States to gain experience working with and on behalf of the poor through the efforts of a CCHD diocesan office. The CCHD internship combines practical work in addressing the mission of CCHD at the local level, opportunities to develop relationships with community leaders, reflection on Catholic social teaching, and time for sharing experiences with other CCHD interns around the country. |
Hosting an intern can be a rewarding opportunity for an office and the intern. As you consider whether or not hosting an intern is right for you consider these questions:
What projects/tasks do I want an intern to accomplish?
Do I have the time to provide adequate supervision of a person, who is not professional staff, and to meet with him or her on a weekly basis?
Does my diocesan office have work space for an intern?
Do I have time between January and March to actively recruit candidates?
Before applying, please view the
Timeline of Application and Funding Process for a CCHD Internship.
Request Form by December 15. Diocesan sites will be announced by January 5. Since the number of placements is limited by funding, the national office will prioritize proposals from dioceses with the greatest need and which combine substantive work on CCHD projects, local community exposure, and strong supervision. On January 5, the national office notifies dioceses "Yes" or "No" on whether an internship will be funded and indicates a range of hours (min. and max.) that might be awarded depending on the candidate found. (More hours will be awarded for dioceses that secure candidates who meet low income criteria and for dioceses with greatest need.)
Selected dioceses are asked to begin recruiting low income Catholics from the local area. Local parishes, other diocesan offices, CCHD funded groups, college campus ministry offices and career service centers are good places to start. This
Sample Recruiting Plan includes ideas on how you might successfully recruit intern candidates in your diocese.
During the month of March, diocesan directors will interview intern candidates. These
Suggested Sample Questions can be used while interviewing your candidates. Diocesan Directors should choose the best intern candidate by early April and forward the application of the chosen candidate to national office staff for final approval.
Download the Intern Guide Book that interns receive during training.
This
Checklist of Tasks to be completed by Diocesan Directors around the Intern Program and the
Expectations for Hosting a CCHD are a helpful summaries of the steps that should be taken throughout the process.
During the internship, the diocesan director or other designated supervisor will mentor the intern as s/he works on ongoing CCHD projects and engages in ongoing learning and development. At the start of the internship, the supervisor must complete a work plan, which is a one page outline of projects/tasks, the intern's schedule, the hours of supervision and the signature of both the intern and supervisor. This
Sample Work Plan is available to assist you in creating this work plan. Near the end of the internship, the intern will submit a final report and evaluation to the supervisor and to Jill Rauh in the national office. The CCHD diocesan supervisor will submit an
evaluation (Word doc) to Jill Rauh.
“[The intern] provided our office with greater access to other diocesan departments. Because she was new to the Archdiocese, we could easily ask for and get time to meet with the department heads, to hear about their work, to explain ours, and to discuss ways that we can work more closely together.”
– Joan Harper, DD, Los Angeles
“My faith journey with CCHD has left me encouraged and in tune with the needs of the poor and vulnerable. . . The impact of the internship on my spirituality has been significant. In a word, my spiritual development has been a development of solidarity.”
– Angela Jennings, 2009 intern, Oklahoma City
“Having an intern is invaluable to the work of my office and the continued success of CCHD in our Archdiocese…without an intern I am not able to reach as many churches, especially young people, about the work of CCHD.”
– Anne Avellone, DD, Santa Fe
“I witnessed CCHD’s mission unfolding in the workings of it funded groups . . . I encountered first-hand the power that a few dollars had in enabling poor people to associate, congregate, and organize, toppling uneven laws and defending their own human dignity in the process.”
– Anthony Nguyen, 2009 intern, Brooklyn |
For more information about the internship program, please contact Jill Rauh,
Youth & Young Adult Coordinator, at 202-541-3297 or JRauh@usccb.org.