In February, Avenues for Justice (AFJ) placed sixteen young people in our first HIRE Up internship cohort of 2026. This month, fifteen AFJ Interns successfully completed their placements. Eight were invited back by their employers for AFJ’s summer cohort. That invitation to continue their placement is earned, and it tells you everything about how our Participants showed up.

HIRE Up a Young Person This Summer.

For a young person, a summer job offers an opportunity to earn an income, a new network, and a reason to show up. It opens doors, expanding what feels possible and what they can imagine for themselves. It provides something to look forward to when school closes.

Currently, we are confirming business placement partners for our second internship cohort, which kicks off May 5th and runs eight weeks through the summer. Those eight weeks can change everything. We have seen it happen. Interns have gone on to find full-time employment in fields they discovered through our HIRE Up program. Others have been inspired to pursue higher education, driven by a passion for an industry they never knew they would love. A summer job has the potential to become a career direction. This one opportunity can change the course of their lives.

Our Community Partners: The Places That Said Yes

Our HIRE Up interns have worked across some of New York City’s most exciting organizations, from The Boys' Club of New York to Eat CoCo Bred, to St. Mark’s Yoga, and many more. They have gained hands-on experience in health and wellness, media, marketing, education, to name a few. For many of our interns, their internship placements planted something lasting: a new skill, a new contact, a new belief in what they are capable of.

That is what HIRE Up does, and we need your help to do more of it to ensure more young people have access to meaningful work experiences this summer and beyond.

Real work. Real pay. Real experience.

Eight weeks | $17 an hour | 15 hours per week

This is how a summer changes everything.

MAKE YOUR GIFT TODAY