FAQs

What is FYF about?
Find Your Future selects and matches college students with employers in the Chicago-area and other parts of Illinois, with paid, full-time, 10-week internships lasting from early June through mid-August. The program, begun in 2005 as a joint venture between Kaleidoscope and DCFS, is now collaboratively run and sponsored by Kaleidoscope and DCFS and is made possible by donations from participating employers.

Who are the interns?
FYF interns are chosen from the population of approximately 700 young adults cared for by the State of Illinois and who are attending two- and four-year colleges both in Illinois and across the country. As long as their academic requirements are fulfilled, they receive medical care and financial assistance from the state.

What can employers expect?
Kaleidoscope selects and interviews qualifiying youth, sponsors a pre-internship training day, provides Kaleidoscope liaisons, offers networking events for the interns and hosts a post-internship reception with the employers and interns.

Why should I get involved?
As Illinois citizens, it is our social concern to share the responsibility of caring for young people who have depended upon the state for care because of situations of abuse or neglect. By welcoming an enthusiastic college student into your workplace, you are giving that student a rare and treasured opportunity to demonstrate his or her potential in a professional atmosphere while making accessible an environment where important relationships can be established and nurtured.

How can I participate?
Hire an intern! Or, if you are unable to hire an intern this year, sponsor a student's not-for-profit  or small business internship - or sponsor a skills-building workshop!

For example:

• $250 provides 10 weeks of public transportation for one intern
• $375 provides one week of an internship at a not-for-profit
• $500 makes a skills-building workshop or etiquette training possible
• $1,875 sponsors 5 weeks of an internship
• $3,750 sponors one student a life-changing summer internship!

  Contact us today!

773-292-4027 or fyf@kaleidoscope4kids.org

 2011 Closing Ceremonies

In partnership with the Department Of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Find Your Future is a program of Kaleidoscope. On August 9, 2011, we closed this years summer internship program at Petterino's.

Find Your Future is designed to support young adults who have gone through DCFS and  meet certain programmatic criteria. Through Find Your Future the students are matched with a paid internship to compliment their education while providing them invaluable job readiness training. The internship provides ten weeks of paid professional experience and five soft-skilled workshops.

During closing ceremonies, Dantrell Cotton spoke about his experience with a startup company, 312 Aquaponics where he worked on commerical vertical farming. He applied his newly acquired networking skills by introducing the Co-Founders Mario Spatafora and Brian Watkins to his alma mater, Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences where they now sit on the school's Advisory Board. Dantrell participated in the day-to-day work of mixing soil to being included with 312's presentation to Chicago Mayor Emanuel.

Most strking to Dantrell, was the elimination of the stigma attached with DCFS children. He always saw "fault" attached to children when it was revealed they were wards of the state removed from their parents due to neglect or abuse. Find Your Future exposed him to a peer group of successul college students working hard to be successful, and contribute to society. He came to this realization during the group's community service project, where they handed out food baskets to those in need at the YMCA McCormick, a designated Chicago food desert.

He will cherish the camaraderie shared with his fellow interns during their workshops which included: office etiquette presented by Michelle Jackson, Esq. Deputy Director of Human Resources for DCFS, business dinner etiquette presented by PJ McGuire of Modet Inc., interviewing and resume writing skills presented by Katherine Klein of Inspiration Corporation, and a team building exercise presented by Chicago Adventure Therapy.

The Keynote address was given by the Director of DCFS, Erwin McEwen. He opened by saying Find Your Future closing ceremonies was one of his top three events to attend all year. His message to the interns was to continue to explore who they are through education and internships, so they will learn what makes them excited to get up every day to go to work.

Katherine Swanberg, a junior at the University of Illinois, shared her experience as an Intern with the Public Building Commission.She was fortunate to be assigned there with three other Find your Future colleagues. She particularly benefitted from networking with other interns and Kaleidoscope Executive Board Member, Terry Keating. She and a fellow intern became fast friends when sharing their DCFS experiences and decided to make a documentary focusing on five Find Your Future colleagues exploring their aspirations, family relationships, educational and career goals and the impact of nurture vs. nature theory.

Closing remarks were delivered by Tom Finnegan, Executive Director of Kaleidoscope, Inc. provided encouragment ot the interns. He challenged them to use their internship experience to learn about themselves and continue to excel academically. He congratulated the three interns, Leekita McCorker, Markeutta McCollough, and Crystal Spruiell, who secured permanent part-time positions as pharmacy technicians with CVS Pharmacy.

He also acknowledged the Kaleidosope staff, particularly Luticia Coleman, for her leadership in coordinating the program and ensuring a good experience for both employers and itnerns. He also thanked our sponsors: Turner Acceptance, OMSNIC Fortress Insurance, and Modet Inc. As we close out Find Your Future 2011 we are preparing for another successful year in 2012. If you are interested in becoming an employee partner or sponsorship please contact Luticia Coleman or click here to for sponsorship opportunities.