The Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP), a nonprofit network of colleges and universities that integrates undergraduate coursework with community-engaged internships, recently announced it is funding summer interns for four Savannah area nonprofits: Tharros Place, Loop It Up Savannah, Georgia Legal Services Program, and Brightside Child and Family Advocacy. Over nine weeks, students will study poverty as a complex social issue.

“We are so grateful to SHECP for coordinating and funding these internships. It is a great way to match students with an academic background in poverty studies with organizations engaged in hands-on, community-facing, anti-poverty work,” said Julie Wade, Executive Director of Tharros Place. “It is our hope the experience will be transformational both for the students and for Savannah.”

Participating students include:

• Willow Aldridge, Psychology Major, University of Virginia-Wise, Tharros Place

• Geda Brewster, Sociology Major with Minors in African American Studies, Law, Philosophy, and Society, and Creative Writing, Millsaps College, Brightside Child and Family Advocacy (Brighter Futures Intern)

• Eli Childress, Cultural Psychology + Peace Studies Major with a Minor in Philosophy, Manchester University, Tharros Place  

• Evelyn Cotthoff, Environmental Studies Major, Centre College, Loop It Up Savannah 

• Fiona Selders, Data Science and Computer Science Major, Millsaps College, Georgia Legal Services Program

• Sasha Owen, Psychology Major with Minors in Politics and English, Juniata College, CASA Intern with Brightside Child and Family Advocacy 

In addition to receiving college credit, all SCHECP interns live in cohort-based housing, receive a modest living stipend, and participate in summer-long SHECP programming. 

Participating nonprofits include:

Tharros Place 

Tharros Place is a residential facility for survivors of human trafficking, girls ages 12-17, connecting survivors with education, therapy, life skills, and community building activities. Through outreach, Tharros Place educates community members about how to identify and report human trafficking.  

Brightside Child and Family Advocacy 

Brightside’s Brighter Futures program provides youth aging out of foster care with the resources they need for long term success. Through their CASA program, Brightside serves youth who have experienced abuse and neglect by recruiting, training, and supporting Savannah Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) who stand up for their best interests. 

The Georgia Legal Services Program provides free civil legal services to low-income or senior-aged, rural Georgians. They serve Georgians from their 10 locations on a wide variety of legal matters in the areas of family law, housing, access to public benefits, eviction prevention, farmworkers rights, and access to education.

Loop It Up Savannah is a youth arts and education nonprofit whose mission is to provide groundbreaking programs designed to foster creativity, joy, possibility, and learning for the children in our community. Since 2008, Loop It Up has cultivated partnerships and programs which build a community where all children thrive through creative self-discovery. Through school day, after school, and summer programs, Loop It Up serves more than 11,000 children each year, spanning arts-integrated Literacy, STEAM/STEM, Mindfulness, School Garden initiatives and school based uniform and hygiene closets. Loop It Up works extensively with the Savannah Chatham County Public School System as well as many community centers and non-profit organizations.