Prior to starting the internship, each Eureka! intern will participate in a series of required job skills workshops covering professionalism, business etiquette, written, verbal and non-verbal communication, and time management. In addition, interns will be exposed to various sessions throughout the school year focused on career readiness to support their training before the internship. Many interns will have basic exposure to Microsoft Office programs and PC or Mac computers. For internships that require a more skilled intern, we’ll select a participant who has the ability to learn the skills quickly.

Interns should be given a variety of responsibilities as well as the opportunity to ask questions. Shadowing staff, completing small projects, computer work and attending meetings can all be a part of the intern’s experience. Sponsors are not expected to provide 20 hours of face-to-face time with staff, but can instead provide a mix of face time and asynchronous activities or projects for interns to complete. As workplaces often contain sensitive or confidential information, our interns are trained on confidentiality and workplace ethics and are expected to exhibit a high level of maturity on the job.

Interns work 5 hours/day, Monday – Thursday. Hours can be adjusted to fit the schedule of each workplace (as long as they are between the hours of 8:00 am and 6:00 pm), but the days are firm because the interns participate in other activities on Fridays.

Internship sponsors coordinate an internship placement at their place of business. It is important for sponsors to model appropriate behavior and provide support and guidance in the professional arena. Because interns are learning professionalism and other skills, compassion and patience with young people are also necessary traits of an internship sponsor.

YWCA Minneapolis Girls Inc. Eureka! provides an Internship Sponsor Orientation for those sponsoring an intern at their workplace. This is an opportunity for sponsors to meet YWCA Minneapolis staff, troubleshoot potential issues and share best practices and ideas on how to make the internship successful for everyone. Staff are available during regular work hours Monday – Friday to answer questions and help with challenges if they arise. Additionally, a staff member will visit the internship sponsor site weekly to provide professional development for the intern and ensure internship satisfaction and performance.

The tax-deductible donation to YWCA Minneapolis Girls Inc. supports the Eureka! Internship Program by covering intern stipends and other program costs. Upon completion of their internship, interns receive a stipend from YWCA Minneapolis Girls Inc. to honor their hard work and dedication over the summer. By receiving the stipend from Girls Inc., interns are not paid by their internship sites and are therefore considered volunteers, thus eliminating the need to be enrolled through Human Resources. The tax-deductible donation also supports program costs to prepare interns and sponsor sites prior to and during the internship. This includes an orientation and ongoing support for sponsor sites, a one-week job readiness boot camp for interns prior to the internship and weekly professional development support and supervision for interns throughout their internship.

Interns and their parents sign liability, medical and media releases in order to participate in the program. These releases exempt internship sponsor sites from liability. The internship sponsor site and YWCA Minneapolis Girls Inc. sign a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the agreement between both organizations.