Sarah Cullinan of McKinney, Texas is among 75 undergraduate college students selected to participate in the 2009 ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program. In its 19^th year locally, the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program is an eight-week paid summer internship for college students that expands their knowledge and experience in the nonprofit sector.

            Cullinan, a senior urban studies and Spanish major at Trinity University, is spending the summer interning with Bea’s Kids, which seeks to provide educational and personal development programs to children in low-income families. Cullinan is planning and supervising a summer camp for at-risk children.

            This is Cullinan’s second internship with the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program. In 2007 she interned at the Volunteer Center of North Texas, which strengthens the community and its nonprofit sector by promoting volunteerism, mobilizing people and leveraging resources.  Cullinan assisted the Volunteer Center of North Texas by planning, coordinating and implementing all aspects of the annual "Hunger Doesn't Take a Holiday" event.

“Summer break presents an ideal opportunity for college students to test the waters of the career world, and the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program is a great way for interns to develop their skills and prepare for the future,” said Robert Lanyon, manager, corporate citizenship and community investments, ExxonMobil.

            “Throughout the eight weeks, these interns are learning lessons that will follow them well beyond college. We are honored to host a program that achieves great things for interns and agencies alike.”

            While with the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program, students will complete an internship and participate in professional development seminars and a group service project. The service project will be planned and executed by interns, providing them a variety of leadership opportunities. ExxonMobil provides a $265,000 grant to cover intern salaries and the Volunteer Center of North Texas’ administration expenses.

            “Each year, the Community Summer Jobs Program interns become key team members for the 75 selected agencies during the busy summer months,” said Phyllis Bernstein, chair, Volunteer Center of North Texas' Dallas County Council on Volunteerism. “With demand for nonprofit services on the rise, these interns are quickly learning the value of serving our neighbors. This continued partnership between college students and nonprofits is vital in our mission to better our community.” 

            Since the program began in 1971 in New York City, ExxonMobil has provided more than $9.3 million to support 4,300 community summer job internships.  Today it is active in 10 states, including Alabama, Alaska, California, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming.

About ExxonMobil Foundation

ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of the Exxon Mobil Corporation in the United States.  The Foundation and the Corporation engage in a range of philanthropic activities that advance education, health and science in the communities where ExxonMobil has significant operations.  In the United States, ExxonMobil supports initiatives to improve math and science education at the K-12 and higher education levels. 

Globally, ExxonMobil provides funding to improve basic education and combat malaria and other infectious diseases in developing countries.  In 2008, together with its employees and retirees, Exxon Mobil Corporation, its divisions and affiliates, and ExxonMobil Foundation provided $225 million in contributions worldwide, of which more than $89 million was dedicated to education.  Additional information on ExxonMobil’s community partnerships and contributions programs is available at www.exxonmobil.com/community.