This summer, I am blessed with the opportunity to be an intern at Community Renewal Society (CRS), a faith-based social services organization in Chicago that addresses systemic and structural social justice issues. Given that the organization works remotely due to the pandemic, I complete my work from home. I am a part of CRS’ Social Media Team and my tasks largely consist of posting content written and published by CRS and from outside sources, such as news outlets, to the organization’s social media platforms and website. In doing so, I have gained experience thinking and acting quickly on my feet as events do not always have an outlined schedule for when they happen, and therefore, the news may need to be shared with urgency. As a quieter person, I have been given a voice to amplify the injustices that occur in everyday life, especially those imposed on the poor, convicted, and those of color, by posting content on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

In addition to keeping CRS member congregations and followers updated on both historical and current information, I have attended multiple virtual meetings, each with a unique topic and a diverse group of people from a variety of backgrounds, locations, and careers. For example, I participated in discussions on economic justice, racial justice, the architecture of prisons, grantmaking, philanthropy, leadership, and more. These meetings are a way for me to keep in touch with CRS’ other teams such as the Policy & Organizing Committee, the Police Accountability & Criminal Justice Issue Team, the Economic Justice Issue Team, and also nonprofit organizations including Chicago Women in Philanthropy. For each panel, webinar, or conversation I am involved in (whether talking with others or simply listening and learning), I type detailed notes to refer back to and remember the messages and wisdom brought forward. One of the main projects that the Social Media Team is in the process of completing is reformatting the CRS website. For this project, my responsibility is to use a fresh set of eyes in order to provide input and recommendations. Along with this project, I assist in drafting newsletter articles and database clean-up.  

So far, my internship experience at Community Renewal Society has been enriching and illuminating. By joining the staff at CRS, I have entered into a space that allows for education, communication, and change around social justice issues with individuals passionate about helping others and making communities, and the world, a better, equitable place. I even met a Bayard Rustin Fellow! Too, each day at CRS, I expand my knowledge of the discourse surrounding the criminal justice system and inequality, and I connect this to what I have learned in my past political science and sociology courses. When reflecting on my calling and purpose in society, I have a refined understanding of the different forms that activism and advocacy can take and which forms suit me better than others. I feel that I am one step closer to fulfilling my goal of being someone who zealously and successfully fights for people’s rights. I am fortunate to have the chance to carry out CRS’ mission of bringing the truth to light about various policies and legislation and breaking race and class barriers, as well as my own mission to serve those who are marginalized and to bring reform.

– Tyla Gross, Community Renewal Society

“Calling and Purpose”… That’s the big question that everyone ultimately hopes to find, and that is exactly why it is one of the hardest questions to answer. For years I would talk about what I believe my calling is meant to be; I would share my dreams of wanting a nonprofit for minority youth while being a computer science major and business minor. Even though it may have seemed as if I was confident in my purpose I would secretly think to myself that it didn’t make sense. There were days I would sit and contemplate all the different scenarios or obstacles I could possibly encounter. Are my dreams too big or not big enough? Can I actually manifest these concepts into reality? What will it take to make it happen? Am I the right person to pursue this ambitious goal? My thoughts were starting to become overwhelming and paralyzed me from having any traction. My time at Kheprw has reminded me of not only my capabilities but also why I have this dream.

The Kheprw Institute (KI) is a nonprofit that values people in every community. KI is an organization that is committed to bringing about change that leads to empowered self-reliant and self-determining communities. At Kheprw we aim to create a more just, equitable, human-centered world by nurturing youth and young adults. KI works to support youth and young adults in becoming leaders, critical thinkers, and doers. As an intern at Kheprw, my role is democratizing data. I work with a team of people and ultimately we are a central hub for the organization. We are connected with every person, every program, and every project at Kheprw. Each person on the team has specific projects, programs, and people that we interact with directly, we play an integral role throughout the entire organization. I primarily work on three different projects. The largest project is creating a platform catered to entrepreneurs. We hope to create a platform that will provide resources and networks to promote the success and growth of entrepreneurs and small businesses as easily as possible. While I haven’t been able to directly interact with or impact minority youth I have been able to combine two of the three aspects of my dream – business and computer science.

The past few months at Kheprw has reminded me of every experience that I have personally encountered or witnessed that helped inspire my dream and exactly how much I love all three of these things. As a young woman of color from the city of Chicago I can attest to how impactful it would have been for me to have anything like what I hope to create one day. Staying focused and understanding our purpose can be a challenge, and honestly I believe it is supposed to be. The challenges and doubts we face when searching for our purpose are what brings us closer to finding it. Thanks to the projects I am working on, the people I have met, and the Kheprw institute itself I am continuously learning more about what my purpose will require of me.

– Essence Roberson, Kheprw

CAPS Fellows Program has been an experience unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Aside from it being a non-profit organization, it’s honestly one of the best experiences of personal growth I’ve ever been a part of. My experience through the CAPS Fellows Program has provided an enriching experience in what actually happens on a day-to-day basis at a non-profit as well as a business. So far this experience has been one that has really made me start to self-assess how I go about getting things accomplished. A friend of mine by the name of Lem Cartman has a quote that he always says and it really resonates with me because it’s true. It goes, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at start to change.” Throughout this experience, I’ve learned a lot about myself. I love to listen and learn about people’s different experiences and how they think, before this internship I was always trying to be the first person heard in the room. What this particular experience has taught me is that it’s okay to not have something to say on certain topics. No one expects you to be all-knowing , what you know is what you know. 

Aside from the personal growth that has been taking place over this summer I have also had a blast developing relationships at my internship. The work has been more than sufficient, but a big surprise I was not expecting was finding joy in conversing with my fellow colleagues. One way that I’ve been able to foster these relationships is by going to the “porch” which is an actual porch where one of the founders of the Kheprw Institute, Imhotep Adisa, uses the space to hold conversation amongst his employees that both promote intellectual growth and build leadership abilities amongst young individuals. The porch acts as a bridge between the young and the seasoned veterans of the Kheprw Cohort, and allows everyone to express their opinions in an open space freed from judgment. This is probably my favorite part of my internship so far, because the people are so great, but also the topic of discussion we get into here and the wide variety of opinions that exist in this space as well as it pertains to the different age groups that meet on the porch.  

I work for the Kheprw Institute which is a non-profit organization based in Indianapolis that works to create a more just, equitable, human-centered world by nurturing youth and young adults to be leaders, critical thinkers and doers who see the people in any community as the most valuable assets and are committed to working with community assets to bring about change that leads to empowered self-reliant and self-determining communities. So far this summer I have served as the Person of Contact (POC) for the recoverable loan fund program that assists young minority entrepreneurs in whatever stage of the business process they’re currently in. So far this has been an eye opening experience in that it has allowed me to see the ins and outs of what it means to get a business off the ground, but also has allowed me to see what it means to have a thriving business that not only makes money, but adds value to the community in some way shape or form.

– Isaiah Roach, Kheprw