Press Contacts: Trevor Smith
202-670-7783
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2020
POI and Symba Launch Initiative to Save and Fund Summer Internships
Washington, D.C. - Today, Pay Our Interns (POI), and Symba launched the #SaveInternships campaign which will push companies to go remote instead of canceling their programs. POI is also raising funds for their Intern Opportunity Fund which will provide stipends for qualified applicants this summer.
The impacts of COVID-19 are already being felt by young adults nationwide. In a poll taken by PSB Research, 70 percent of paid interns claimed that their internships ended abruptly and 81 percent fear financial instability. This will only get worse as intern season approaches. Our country is at risk of removing an estimated 1 million internships from the economy.
“For countless young adults across the country, internships are the main source of income, putting food on their table, a roof over the head, and ultimately a foot in the door in their respective fields,” said Carlos Mark Vera, executive director of Pay Our Interns. “We know that businesses, nonprofits, and even government offices are facing enormous economic constraints currently, and the fund can fill a needed financial gap for organizations that are looking to recoup costs by slashing their intern budget.”
“We launched #SaveInternships on a mission to empower millions of students and spread awareness on the importance of internships. This is an important time for leaders to stand up and innovate to ensure students are able to continue internship opportunities this summer. Internships are incredibly valuable and essential for students’ careers. Some universities even require internships,” said Ahva Sadeghi, CEO & co-founder of Symba “Our team at Symba is working hard to help companies make this important transition to moving remote this year. We are tapping into the power of remote work to help save one million internships, “ said Nikita Gupta, CTO & co-founder of Symba.
“The cancellation of summer internships, particularly for rising and graduating seniors, will have a devastating impact that will have enormous implications for the rest of their lives,” said Guillermo Creamer, co-founder of Pay Our Interns. “Young people and college students have been mostly ignored thus far in all economic recovery efforts related to the current crisis, despite the enormous hurdles they will face for years to come. It’s more clear than ever that young people need support in this moment and money in their pockets to help further stimulate the economy.”