Hello, my name is Kaia Lewis and I am a junior at The Ohio State University majoring in Marketing. This summer I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of The Columbus Foundation’s Summer Fellows. For 10 weeks from June 3rd-August 9th I will be interning at City Year Columbus assisting their development department with prospective donor research, social media/communications, and fundraising operations.

The first week working with City Year Columbus was full of learning opportunities. Although I was just beginning my time with the organization, the past week marked the end of their 28 Americorp member’s year of service.

Americorp members at City Year Columbus ages 18-25 years old work specifically with Columbus City Schools students to keep them in school and on track to graduate by offering individualized academic support, near-peer mentoring through their focus groups, and school-wide engagement initiatives. Throughout their time at City Year Columbus, Americorp members complete 1,700 service hours, including 300 hours of applicable business skills and professional development.

City Year Columbus partnered with Champion Middle School, Linden-McKinley STEM Academy, Mifflin High School, Starling K-8, Trevitt Elementary School, and Windsor STEM Academy this past year. There were 450+ Focus List students, 3,100+ students served and 51,000+ hours served annually.

Leading up to their graduation on Friday, members first participated in a field day at Windsor STEM Academy on Thursday, June 6th that I helped set up. There was a variety of activities including a survivor-style relay race, minute-to-win-it games, and even kickball. I’m glad I was able to help contribute to the festivities as the Americorp members deserved a break/reward for all the hard work they’ve been doing and time volunteered throughout the school year.

Thursday evening I headed over to Top Golf for our Drive Student Success fundraising event. To show our appreciation each person that attended had a decorative towel, pen, and stickers in their bays. Overall the event was a great time to relax after the work week, connect with prospective individual donors, and further cultivate corporate partnerships.

However, Thursday evening wasn’t the last major event of the week. Friday evening was graduation night for the Americorp members where they celebrated their time served and the impact made with City Year Columbus this past school year. Although I wasn’t able to stay for the duration of the event I was able to help set up a collage of pictures documenting all the wonderful experiences members had.

I am grateful for a successful first week with City Year Columbus and am looking forward to learning further about the nonprofit world, professional development, and career skills with The Columbus Foundation.