16 May 4 Easy Ways for Businesses to Volunteer With Rêve Academy
We all dream of being model citizens who volunteer in the community—but then life gets in the way. How do you juggle volunteering with all of your other commitments?
At Rêve Academy, we know how to work with busy professionals who still want to do good. If your organization cares about developing the next generation of tech and business leaders, this post is for you. Depending on your capacity, we can help you work directly with students or show you other tangible ways to help. Sound good? Let’s look at four simple ways that companies can make a big impact.
1. Host a field trip
You’re used to your office—the chatter, the dress code, the technology. But to students who aren’t familiar with professional working spaces, it’s a revelation. After visiting the Buzzfeed Minneapolis office, our students had a better understanding of how to create their own tech career. Watch intern Jenna explain it in her own words:
Our interns also had the chance to tour SportsEngine‘s offices this spring. They learned how skills like web design, marketing, and software engineering can turn a simple idea into something bigger—in this case, a platform that’s currently used by 500,000 sports teams, leagues, clubs and associations.
The dynamic front lobby of SportsEngine in Minneapolis (Photo credit: BizJournals)
2. Visit our office
Maybe your office doesn’t look like SportsEngine’s—that doesn’t mean you can’t make an impression! We love hosting professionals at our office, particularly professionals who come from the same background as our students.
A visit doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, a recent event with Graveti proved that a low-key atmosphere helps students feel comfortable and get more out of the visit. We asked Graveti members to hold conversations with student groups on three topics: Life Lessons, Finding Your Passion, and Post-High School Path.
Summer intern Angel talks about his plans for the future
The room was buzzing for two hours with laughter and conversation. We finished with ice cream sundaes while interns shared their favorite parts of the day. Intern Emmanuel said, “I like how we all received insights from each Digiteer, not just one of them. I also liked that they gave advice on what we could do now to ensure a successful future.”
Alex Rodriguez of Graveti explains his entrepreneurial mindset
3. Sponsor a project
Field trips and conversations help students see themselves as future professionals. But hands-on learning is where they actually develop the skills to make it happen—which is why we offer spring, summer, and fall internships for promising students. To find meaningful projects for them to work on, we partner with some amazing organizations. But not every org can pay 100% of the costs. That’s where you come in.
Sponsoring a project means walking alongside our students and investing in their success. By helping to fund their project work, you increase students’ skills in a highly measurable way. Plus, your business gets a PR boost from partnering with a trusted, socially conscious organization like ours.
Interns preparing for a meeting with their project partner
4. Share your skills
Every successful business is built on a foundation of skilled workers. If you can spare a few afternoons to share your talents with our interns, you’ll both walk away feeling great. We recently partnered with the team at Mastcom, a Minneapolis video production company. They asked if they could teach basic video production skills to interns—an idea we loved!—and then took it a step further by helping students write and film their very own video.
Actors and crew pose with their awards after watching the world premiere of their film
The interns had a blast and so did the Mastcom team—one employee even said it was “Hands down, one of my favorite projects to be a part of.”
Are you in? If you’d like to learn more about any of these options—hosting a field trip, visiting our office, becoming a project sponsor, or sharing your skills—just email Andrew, our Director of Student-Run Businesses and we’ll take care of the rest. Our interns can’t wait to learn from you!