Enrichment, Volunteer Opportunities, & CAS

Enrichment, Volunteer Opportunities, & CAS

Internships are a way for students to get involved, challenge themselves, stay active, and support their community. The benefits of supplementing your academic courses with outside experiences range from gaining skills to meeting new people to improving your college resume.

If you are an International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme candidate, you are required to do a minimum of 150 hours of Creativity, Activity, and Service during your junior and senior year.

This page contains many resources you can use to get involved in our school, the local community, New York City, and the wider world. Choose from one of the categories below or use one of these other internship and opportunity listing sites:

• Idealist.org — a database of volunteer or internship opportunities in NYC

• Teen Life — search for different opportunities for teenagers

• Indeed.com — search for any kinds of jobs or internships

• Media Bistro — a list of available internships specifically in the media field

• Torus Teens — a list of after school activities in the NYC area

High School After School Clubs

The activities students choose to engage in outside of the classroom help college admission officers understand our students' personality in a way that their grades and test scores cannot show. Joining a club allows students the opportunity to gain leadership skills, practice time management, and fulfill their passions with a group of peers. Find a list of the various after school clubs we offer at our high school here.

Service Opportunities

• • NY Cares — A variety of service opportunities around the city

  • NY Cares Teen Service Team — Gain leadership skills while helping people and groups around the city.

  • Foodbank of NYC — A variety of service opportunities around the city

  • Volunteer Match — Search for volunteer opportunities based on your interests (arts, education, health care, etc).

  • Habitat for Humanity — Help build or improve homes for low income families

  • DoSomething.org — an organization dedicated to working with young people interested in fighting for social change

  • NYC Service — Teen Volunteer Opportunities around NYC

  • ASPCA — get involved with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

  • Heights and Hills — Volunteer for 1-2 hours a week for 6 months, helping the elderly in Brooklyn

  • Prospect Park Alliance — Sign up for different volunteer opportunities in Prospect Park

  • YMCA Global Teens — an international exchange and service learning program which encourages teens to step outside the comfortable surroundings of their home country and embark on a deep, inspirational and impactful journey of personal growth and global exploration for teens ages 13 to 18

  • Go Project — Volunteer to work with elementary school children

  • FirefliesNY — FirefliesNY is a martial arts therapy program for children with autism. Come and volunteer and work with students while learning TaeKwonDo. Volunteers are needed Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:00-5:00. If interested, please contact Lisa@FirefliesNY.com

Enrichment programs

• • Coro Youth Leadership Development — The Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) is grounded in the belief that the educational system is more effective when its policies are shaped by the young people it serves. In partnership with the New York City Department of Education, the YLA provides leadership training to students serving on its citywide Borough Student Advisory Councils.

  • NYC Parks — Get involved with teen programs such as basketball, computer workshops, dance classes, swimming, and homework help.

  • NY Times Weekend Classes — Sign up for courses held over the weekend in courses like "Starting your own business," and "Sports Management."

  • Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) — A free eight-year academic program that gets low-income public high school students to and through college–with a 95% college graduation rate.

  • Girls Write Now — Our flagship mentoring program matches girls with professional women writers and includes portfolios, readings, and publication, supplemented with supports like trainings, college prep and therapy panel.

  • Minds Matter — A three year program that begins in students’ sophomore year of high school offering a combination of individualized mentor support and group instruction that provides students with the resources, information and guidance they need to gain admission to, enroll in and graduate from four-year colleges.

  • Row NY — Row New York’s core year-round program for youth combines rowing with comprehensive academic support, and prepares middle school and high school girls and boys for success both on and off the water.

  • The Possibility Project — Operates year-long programs that bring together vastly diverse groups of youth from the five boroughs of New York City. They go through an intense year long creative process through which they write an original musical whose stories come from their lives and their ideas for a better world, and create Community Action Projects where they take those ideas and act on them to make their city better.

  • Cooper Union Saturday and Summer Art Programs — A free Art & Architecture Program for NYC public HS students. We offer free classes in Drawing, Graphic Design, Painting, Sculpture, Sound Composition, Architecture and Portfolio Preparation

  • Saddie Nash Leadership Program — A unique educational model that includes rigorous coursework, mentoring, as well as service, experiential, and skill learning, including community organizing and youth-designed activism projects. Every aspect of the program is designed to support and develop young women to both visualize themselves as leaders and actualize their leadership.

  • Writopia Lab — creative writing workshops for kids ages 6 to 18. All of our workshops have a maximum of seven students and are led by a published author or produced playwright who has been fully trained in our time-tested methodology

  • ArtsConnection — Whether attending a show, exhibition or teen arts event, joining us for a few weeks, or participating in a career focused internship, Teen Programs at ArtsConnection offers a wide range of out-of-school creative arts experiences for teens

  • Chinatown YMCA — offers many programs and services for teens to help them give back, read ahead, work out, learn a new skill and meet friends

  • The Door — The Door’s mission is to empower young people to reach their potential by providing comprehensive youth development services in a diverse and caring environment.” - Programs fall under categories such as college advisement, jobs and internships, LGBTQ, recreation, and leadership.

  • Brooklyn Community Pride Center — The Brooklyn Community Pride Center’s purpose is to provide support and services to the community, alone or in partnership with existing organizations, with the intention of filling existing gaps in services and strengthening the web of support, borough-wide.

  • The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center — Serving 6,000 visitors each week, the Center provides groundbreaking social service, public policy, educational, cultural and recreational programs designed to nurture and empower LGBT people.

  • NYU HS Law Institute — Students participate in hour-long classes on criminal law, constitutional law, and mock trial, taught by teams of NYU law and undergraduate students

  • Museum of Natural History After School Courses — Take classes in anthropology, astrophysics, earth sciences, genetics, biodiversity, and more.

  • New York Math Circle — Take weekend Math courses at different colleges in NYC, including NYU

  • Columbia University Science Honors Program — The Columbia University Science Honors Program (SHP) is a Saturday morning program specifically designed for high school students in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades. Classes are held on the Columbia University Morning side Campus during the entire academic year from September through May.

  • The Perry Initiative — The Perry Initiative partners with medical centers, universities, and high schools to host Perry Outreach Programs for young women in high school, college, and medical school. These day-long programs are held at different locations nationwide throughout the year.

  • Sing for Hope Youth Chorus — Those accepted to participate in the Sing for Hope Youth Chorus receive vocal training while developing performance and sight-singing skills. Chorus members have the opportunity to learn from talented members of Sing for Hope’s Volunteer Artist Roster and perform throughout New York City.

  • Free Arts NYC Teen Arts Program — The Teen Arts Program (TAP) provides teens with regular access to NYC cultural institutions and opportunities to explore the arts as a potential academic or professional goal. Programs include museum & studio visits, portfolio mentorship, and internships.

  • Urban Word NYC — Perform or watch in poetry slams around the city or take workshops to help you develop your skills.

  • ArtsConnection — Get $5 tickets to many different shows around NYC.

  • Whitney Museum of American Art Youth Insights Artists — YI Artists programs bring teens together with contemporary artists, providing opportunities to work collaboratively, discuss art critically, and think creatively. YI Artists make art inspired by this exchange.

  • Eyebeam Rap Research Lab - The Rap Research Lab is a studio for teens to explore art, data visualization, graphic design and the stats behind Beats, Rhymes & Life in a creative environment.

  • JumpstART — jumpstART is a year-long, studio-based intensive for high school students with a demonstrated interest in and aptitude for the visual arts. A joint initiative with the Joan Mitchell Foundation, jumpstART provides arts education and professional development training to participants, and guides them through the process of conceptualizing, organizing, promoting, and curating their own group exhibition.

  • Museum of Modern Art Free Arts Classes — Free hands-on art classes for NYC high school students, ages 13–19. No experience necessary! MoMA provides all materials, food, studio space, and more. Each course meets three times a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and culminates in a teen art show of participants' work.

  • Cooper Hewitt Design Prep 101: Pixar — Join us in December as we explore the design process behind Pixar Animation Studios. During this workshop, students will be inspired by the museum’s Pixar installation and draw from their processes of iteration, collaboration and research to create their own characters and stories.

  • Reel Works Lab Program — The Lab is a free after-school film making workshop that matches NYC teens one-on-one with professional filmmaker-mentors to create original short documentaries about their lives and communities.

  • NYC Parks Rec Youth — Join an open workshop as a video or audio producer, photographer, graphic designer, animator, or game designer. With the help from experts in these fields, you’ll learn to use professional hardware and software to create your own digital media projects.

  • cSplash at NYU — One day speaker series at NYU for students who are interested in Math

  • Museum of the City of NY Saturday Academy — Saturday Academy is a free six-session program for students interested in American History or SAT preparation. There’s no homework and all course materials are provided.

  • NYC Urban Debate League — Our high school debate program is one of the largest and most successful debate programs in the country. Our member schools have qualified and won top awards at every tournament from local tournaments to the National Tournament of Champions to the International Debate Championships.

  • NY Public Library HS Innovation Labs — The High School Innovation Labs Program is a FREE after-school program, where you will earn ELA or technology credits and learn how to use different technology tools.

  • Girls Write Now — With fifteen years of experience under our belt, Girls Write Now knows a lot about community-building, mentoring, empowering women, writing, and more. We put that knowledge into action through our programs — highly-structured, yet personalized; challenging, yet rewarding; and designed to provide creative and engaging opportunities for women of all ages

  • Educational Video Center's Youth Documentary Workshop — Through this rigorous after-school program, 60 students from schools throughout New York City annually earn academic credit, or receive stipends, and meet the Common Core Standards as they learn to produce a documentary on a subject of personal interest and community relevance.

  • All Star Project's Development School for Youth — Innovative outside-of-school leadership and business training program. In partnership with businesses and caring corporate professionals DSY offers supplemental educational, social and internship experiences in a variety of workplace settings.

  • Moving Mountains — Drama, Dance, Vocal, Film & Professional Development at Medgar Evers College

  • Finding the Fabulous Teen Conference for girls — This conference will be an opportunity to challenge the status quo, give a voice to your powerful ideas, and unlock your potential as a problem solver, role model and change-maker

  • Teen Ink — A place to submit writing or participate in writing workshops.

Summer Opportunities

*Note: most rolling admissions programs will give priority to earlier applicants.

Torus Teens offers summer programs to help students retain the knowledge they've gained over the year, while helping them build new skills. For more information go to https://torusteens.com, a site that lists all NYC summer programs, many of which are free and low cost.

DOROT summer teen internship program — The program is for rising sophomores through rising seniors.The internship inspires high school students to develop leadership skills and give back to the community. Interns volunteer with a diverse group of socially-conscious teens to connect with older adults and provide assistance. The internship is unpaid and designed to provide students with a minimum of 92 hours of community service. The application will open in December 2019.

i Am DA Performing Arts Summer Program

Open to: Students ages 13-18

When: Check Application

Application Deadline: Rolling

What: At i Am DA, students will participate in a 2 week intensive acting program with classes ranging from Movement, Playwriting, Working on Broadway, and more. Students will also have rehearsals for an original play developed by the group that will perform at the end of the session.

Choate Rosemary Hall Summer Programs

Open to: All students

When: Variety of dates depending on program

Application Deadline: Rolling admissions

What: Students who spend their summer at Choate Rosemary Hall have the opportunity to take classes in a variety of topics and departments. Each different program allows students to pick and choose what they would like to study during their time at Choate.

Department of Labor NY Youth Works Program

Open to: Students ages 16-24

Application Deadline: Rolling admissions

What: The program will support job training and employment for eligible youth ages 16 to 24 who live in the areas of New York State. Need help finding a job? The NY Youth Works Program can assist you! Our goal is to help you get into the workplace and succeed. First, all you have to do is get certified by the NYS Department of Labor.

Educating Girls for Engineering (EDGE)

Open to: High School Juniors and Seniors

When: July 15-27, 2020

Financial Aid Deadline: Rolling

What: EDGE is a 2-week residential program for girls interested in engineering. Students will participate in engineering workshops, trips and tours throughout the program.

Grab the Torch

Open to: Students ages 14-18

When: TBD

What: Grab the Torch provides students with visits and presentations to learn leadership, ethics, and service skills. Students will participate in lectures, trips, and activities that help to teach these skills and about the non-profit world. There are 10 spots open for the CT program and 12 spots open for the Maine program.

Travel Programs/Abroad Experiences

• • Amigos International: 4-8 week immersion/service trips to Latin America. They also have an engineering program for graduating seniors. Application Deadline: Rolling admissions.

  • Westcoast Connection — Participate in travel or service trips domestically or internationally. Application Deadline: Rolling admissions

  • People to People International — A variety of different international travel opportunities to places such as Tokyo, Costa Rica, and Europe. Application Deadline: Changes based on program.

  • Youth for Understanding: Intercultural exchange programs — take part in a variety of study abroad programs in different places around the world. Application Deadline: Varies by trip

  • GGE Pre-College Summer Program in Germany — Take a 4 week pre-college summer program in Germany with American professors. Application Deadline: Not listed.

Sports

• • City Parks Foundation — CPF provides FREE sports instruction to over 14,000 kids and 1,000 seniors annually, at over 80 parks citywide. Whether it's tennis, golf, track & field or fitness - the name of the game here is FUN for all ability levels! Application Deadline: Varies

  • Run for the future — summer running and scholarship program for young women going into their senior year of high school. This unique opportunity welcomes those with little to no prior athletic experience and introduces them to the sport of running. Along with support and guidance from NYRR’s coaching staff, NYRR Run for the Future participants have access to workshops that teach the new runners about running technique, nutrition, form drills, stretching, as well as, developing healthy body image and goal setting. For more information and to apply, visit: Run for the future

Volunteering

• • NYC Service targets volunteers to address New York City's greatest needs by mobilizing the power of volunteers to impact six areas: Strengthening Communities; Education Excellence; Economic and Workforce Development; Health and Well Being; Environment; and Emergency Preparedness and Response. For information on volunteer opportunities in your area, visit: www.nycservice.org/

  • Black Girls Code — Their mission is to increase the number of women of color in the digital space by empowering girls of color ages 7 to 17 to become innovators in STEM fields, leaders in their communities, and builders of their own futures through exposure to computer science and technology. To provide African-American youth with the skills to occupy some of the 1.4 million computing job openings expected to be available in the U.S. by 2020, and to train 1 million girls by 2040. Application Deadline: Ongoing

  • BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival — BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! is a world-class festival with outdoor performances in a beautiful setting. You'll have fun while helping in a variety of ways at our music, film, and dance performances.

Arts

• • Sing for Hope Arts Intensive — A free weeklong arts program, Sing for Hope's Arts Intensive provides motivated high school students with the opportunity to explore various art forms in a creative environment. Classes are led by professional artists from Sing for Hope's Volunteer Artist Roster. Past sessions have included acting, improvisation, a cappella, songwriting, visual art, DJing, and dance, among others.

  • The Wooster Group Summer Institute — The Summer Institute is a free, three-week performance workshop for teenagers in the public school system. The workshop is organized around a selected text and sessions with guest artists in many aspects of performance (ranging from movement to writing to voice training to video techniques). The program culminates in three public performances for supporters, friends, and family. Application opens in January

  • The Octavia Project — Octavia Project is a *free* intensive summer program where young women from Brooklyn explore their love of science fiction and fantasy through science, tech, art, and writing.

College/Academics

• • Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program — The Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program is a 7-week intensive computer science course that embeds classrooms in technology companies and universities. Girls learn everything from robotics to mobile development to HTML and CSS while gaining exposure to the tech industry and receiving valuable mentorship from women working in technology. Application Deadline: not listed; application opens in January.

  • Baruch College STEP Academy — The Baruch College STEP (Science and Technology Entry Program) Academy is a pre-college program for middle and high school students who are interested in pursuing careers in science and health related professions. Application Deadline: not listed

  • City College of NY STEM Institute — STEM is a challenging academic enrichment program to encourage talented Latinos, female, and under-represented minority and disadvantaged high school students currently enrolled in the 9th, 10th , and 11th grades to pursue careers in the field of engineering, computer science, science, business management, entrepreneurs, and mathematics. Application Deadline: not listed yet

  • Ithaca College Summer College:In Ithaca College's residential pre-college summer program, high school students experience college life and college-level courses while living in a safe environment. Application Deadline: Not listed.

  • Columbia University Summer Programs: Rigorous summer pre-college academic programs for students entering grades 9 through 12 and freshman year of college. Application Deadline: January 23, 2020

  • Tech Kids Unlimited: A not-for-profit technology-based educational organization for kids ages 7-19 with special needs. Its work-based learning program empowers and inspires the next generation of digital natives to learn, create, develop and share the tools of technology in a supporting and nurturing environment. Application Deadline: Not listed.

Leadership Development

• • American Legion Auxiliary Girls State — The program epitomizes the ALA’s mission to honor those who have brought us our freedom through our enduring commitment to develop young women as future leaders grounded in patriotism and Americanism. The young women become knowledgeable of the democratic process and how our republic form of government works at the state and national levels. Application Deadline: Not listed

Summer Camps

• • Good Shepard Services — Free Summer Camps for NYC youth Application Deadline: Varies by camp

  • The Fresh Air Fund Summer Camps — A variety of different summer camps available. Application Deadline: varies by program