Internship Location: Los Angeles CA
Organization Type: Nonprofit
Policy Areas: Child Welfare, Foster System, Child Advocacy
I had the pleasure of working at Kidsave International this summer, as a summer intern for the Weekend Miracles Program. The organization is a Non-profit that works to help kids in the Los Angeles foster care system find meaningful connections with adults that want to make a difference in their lives. The program I worked for specifically focused on children in the area, ages 9-17, who are looking for either adoptive parents, or mentors that they can have by their side as they grow older, and eventually age out of the system. La Follette has taught me a great deal about the value of access to care, and its vital role in the ability that the public has in order to improve their wellbeing. This was very relevant when I learned about the care and support that these children need, as many of them have suffered traumatic childhoods, where they have experienced childhood trauma from neglect, abuse, or other forms of conflict in the home. I was able to help my team with organizing our data for the children and families that were a part of our program in order to access it easily when there is a connection made. Additionally, a large part of my responsibility involved helping to plan and organize our monthly events, that were held to help bring children and families together with the intent of facilitating a meaningful connection. This internship helped me realize even more how passionate I am about making a difference in the lives of people who cannot always advocate for themselves. It made me even more driven to go into this line of work, and help make change.