Community Cafe Bainbridge

Bainbridge Youth Services (BYS) and the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island are working together to promote the social and emotional wellbeing of our adolescents and young adults. One way they do this is through sponsorship of a summer internship program where high school students get real world work experience with local employers. In 2017, the summer internship program had 25 employers and 35 interns, but this year, BYS and Rotary are looking to expand it significantly. Listen here as BYS president Tom McCloskey explains how the program is expanding and evolving to better accommodate the needs of both youth and their employers. The benefits for youth are obvious: whether their internships are paid or unpaid; whether they last just a few weeks or a whole summer; the young people who participate get meaningful job skills, build a strong work ethic and are exposed to a sector or industry of interest. Their experiences as interns in island businesses can help frame who they are and shape what they do with their li