Internship and Mentoring Initiative

Description

The ECAC Internship and Mentoring Initiative was first implemented in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland during the 2008-09 academic year and has expanded into New York City and New Jersey for the 2009-10 year.  The purpose of this initiative is to connect ECAC member institutions with local youth organizations that provide recreational opportunities to underserved children.  In this way, the ECAC is supporting the total development of students and encouraging them to give back to the community through sports. For a complete outline of the purpose and objectives of the initiative please click here.

Opportunities Available

The ECAC has partnered with youth organizations in Washington D.C., Baltimore, Maryland, New York and New Jersey that have expressed interest in working with students from ECAC member institutions in close proximity.  These organizations enable underserved children to participate in athletics and the benefits of their work extend beyond the fundamental athletic skills to fostering a sense of teamwork and individual development and success.  Each organization specializes in a distinct sports field and has considered how interns and mentors would work in their program design as outlined below.    

Baltimore, Md. - Baltimore Saints Hockey     Patterson Park Hockey       Tender Bridge

New York -        America SCORES         NY Junior Tennis League     Phipps Community 
                         Row New York            Sports Foundation, Inc.     
                        The Institute for Responsible Citizenship 

New Jersey -     New Jersey Goals Ahead

Washington, D.C. - Capital Rowing Club     Friends of Fort Dupont          Living Classrooms
                               United for D.C.             WINNERS Lacrosse

Getting Started

The ECAC Internship and Mentoring Initiative provides a tremendous opportunity for students to share their passion for sports, athletic skills and academic experience with children in the community.  The timeline for implementation is 3 months and we plan to coordinate between member institutions and the local youth organizations.  If you are interested in participating in the initiative, please review and complete the volunteer form. 

NCAA Grant Information

In order to assist in the process of partnering students at our member institutions with the outstanding youth organizations, please consider applying for the NCAA Student-Athlete Development Grant which "is a $1,250 award given to 60 institutions to fund new and existing student-athlete development programming" (www.ncaa.org).  We believe that this grant might assist in the process given the current economic climate.  More information regarding the grant is available online at:
http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaakey=/ncaa/ncaa/ncaa+news/ncaa+news+online/2009/association-wide/ncaa+funds+60+grants+for+studentathlete+development+ncaa+news+09-09-09

Questions/Comments
Please feel free to contact Mary Conway at 508-771-5060 ext. 235
or by email at mconway@ecac.org.