Real work experience is getting harder and harder to come by for teens in Durango. That’s why when I heard about the Community Action Utilizing Service Experience Internship, I was immediately fascinated. It matched exactly the direction I wanted to go with my major and career choice.
When I learned about a paid marketing internship working alongside local nonprofits, it felt like something made for me. It combined the business aspect I love with making a real impact for my community. This internship offers a completely different opportunity than my current restaurant job, serving pizza until my fingers fall off.
CAUSE is a paid digital marketing internship run through the Community Foundation serving Southwest Colorado. This experience pairs rising high school juniors and seniors with local nonprofits for a full month in June. The interns help produce marketing content that encourages donors to “Give where you live” on Southwest Colorado Gives Day.
I applied because I wanted real marketing experience before committing to a marketing major. It offered me a way to test if it was something I loved before signing my life away to marketing. I won’t lie, the $22 an hour was a pretty good motivator. Little did I know I would walk away from this internship with more than just a paycheck – I left with an immense amount of new skills and knowledge as well.
Luckily, I was placed with the Foundation. Producing content that would actually be used was something I didn’t expect out of this internship. It made me feel so special knowing that the time I put in really did mean something to my nonprofit.
With the Foundation, I captured content at the 19th Hole Concert series in Pagosa Springs, volunteered for BurroFest, updated CAUSE marketing materials and helped produce content for Southwest Colorado Gives Day. Unlike classwork, these were real contributions to real campaigns.
Before this internship, I had no idea what a community foundation was. I didn’t know what Southwest Colorado Gives Day was. I didn’t know how many nonprofits were right here in Durango, quietly making this place the kind of town people want to live in. Thankfully, that changed early on into CAUSE.
I learned about grants, funds and services these organizations offer and how they support each other. The people I met were some of the kindest, most motivated people I’ve encountered, which inspired me to work hard every day.
What made this different from any other high school job wasn’t the pay. It was the feeling that what I was doing actually mattered. I was building real marketing content, learning from professional mentors in my community and contributing to a community that has given me so much. I got more than just money and experience, I got clarity. I came in wondering if marketing was really for me. I’m leaving with a better understanding than I could have ever had before.
If you know a rising junior or senior in the Durango area, please tell them to apply to the CAUSE internship next summer.
Do you want to make a difference right now in your community? You can participate in Southwest Colorado Gives Day, and donate to a local nonprofit or a cause that you stand for. I’m not just saying that because I updated it and now it’s incredible, but because Southwest Colorado Gives is such an amazing way to give back. Our local nonprofits are behind why Durango is such an incredible place and why our community is closer than ever.
I didn’t expect one month to teach me this much, but Durango always has a way of always impressing you.
