CASA KIDS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Thanks to the cash grant awarded to us by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), we were able to host our first group of Casa Kids interns this summer. Through YouthMade, an initiative of Juma Ventures, an organization that provides gainful employment to young adults and the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SBIDC) we were matched with our youth interns. Interns are local, low-income students who are breaking the cycle of poverty by being the first in their family to attend college.

Orientation of prospective interns and Roberto with our first group in preparation for this 4-week internship program, we dedicated the front area of our shop as our interns' classroom and their first project was to fix up this raw space by cutting out and adding a wood frame in the window. This immediately immersed them in the basics of using hand tools, sketching, measuring and reading design blueprints. With Roberto's guidance, they were then given small projects, such as a chair or a storage bench to give them experience in building a piece of furniture from start to finish. Besides training, our interns also helped in our daily work here at Casa Kids by installing furniture at clients' homes and data-entry in the office.

We're very happy to be able to partner with JUMA and the SBIDC to provide valuable work experience for the next generation of Brooklyn makers. Take a glimpse at our interns at work below.

Person constructing wooden shelving in a room using a ladder. Tulio Santos builds a plywood rack based on Roberto's sketches and measurements