(l. to r.), James S. Turley, chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young, Steve W. Alesio, chairman and CEO, D&B, and All Stars Alumnus, Famicia Coriolan at the All Stars Project’s Gala at Lincoln Center on April 21, 2009

The All Stars Project’s Development School for Youth has partnered with dozens of businesses including D&B, Ernst & Young, SourceMedia, PSEG, and MetLife to place 285 interns this summer. To date, we have secured 186 internships with 99 to go.

Steve Alesio, chairman and CEO of D&B, and Jim Turley, chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young spoke at the All Stars Gala along with two DSY alumni about the importance of the program. Here are excerpts from their statements:

As the leader of Ernst & Young, I am so grateful for the relationship that our firm has with the All Stars and with DSY. I can’t think of a better way for us to invest in young people. This year we’re going to have 13[DSY] interns joining us. For those of you who have not had interns in your organization, please find a way to do it. The young people need it, and your own employees need it because it makes us all so much better.  – Jim Turley, Chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young

The program [DSY] itself is a training ground, and the internships are our test. My internship changed my life. It allowed me to quit my cashier job at Duane Reade where I worked from 4pm-12am only to head home and face the streets of East NY in the early morning hours.  My internship was at Health Plus and I was able to work 8am-4pm, not wearing a uniform but instead, business attire. I had a badge with my first and last name that hooked onto my clothing. It was the greatest feeling. I had a cubicle, a slot for my name which said, Crystal Ferguson, Member Services Project Coordinator. I went from having lunch by myself at McDonalds, to having lunch with the CEO, Tom Early, or with my supervisor, Michelle Bethea, at restaurants that I couldn’t even pronounce… this kind of change can occur in every young person’s life by giving them just a simple internship. – Crystal Ferguson,  DSY Alumnus

My family and I are immigrants from Haiti and we live in a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn… I learned a lot from the DSY and it prepared me for my internship at one of the most prestigious law firms in the country, Skadden, Arps, where I now work full time. With what I have earned, I am able to help my mother with some of the monthly bills. I pay the light bill, Internet, phone and cable bills. My yearly bonus and tax refunds go to her. And my mother's main focus is the house rent, the groceries and my younger siblings…We will be forever thankful for the All Stars for supporting my development, and therefore my family’s development. – Famicia Coriolan, DSY Alumnus

It’s just too easy and too convenient to take a pass this year because of “the economy”.   When you take this down to “investing” in these young people for [DSY] internships, it’s a $3,000 investment for each one of them – we think that’s quite reasonable and in most cases a small investment for most businesses… At Dun & Bradstreet, we will be sponsoring 30 internships this summer.  Jim[Turley] and I are setting a high bar for ourselves and for the corporate community. – Steve Alesio, Chairman and CEO, D&B

 

For more information on how to sponsor a DSY intern at your company this summer, please contact Kirsten Fulda at 212-356-8423 or kfulda@allstars.org.