A Closing Letter

Seven years ago, I was a high school sophomore who couldn't find a meaningful internship. I was frustrated — not because I wasn't capable, but because no one had built the bridge between what I could offer and what nonprofits needed. So I built it myself.

What happened next was beyond anything I could have imagined.

Over 20,000 high school students found their first real professional experience through Interns 4-Good. They designed logos, built websites, wrote grant applications, created lesson plans, and tutored over 600 children who needed support during one of the hardest periods in recent memory. They showed up — week after week — not for a paycheck, but because they believed in something bigger than themselves.

350+ nonprofits trusted us with their most important work. They took a chance on teenagers, and those teenagers delivered. Every single time.

We received a $120,000 Google grant that validated what we always knew: this model works. We were recognized by Forbes, the Gloria Barron Prize, the Prudential Spirit of Community Award, Points of Light, and the State of New York. But the recognition that mattered most was always the email from an intern who got their first job because of a portfolio they built with us, or the nonprofit director who told us our interns saved their organization.

To our interns and volunteers: You are the organization. Every hour you gave, every project you completed, every nonprofit you supported — that was Interns 4-Good. You didn't just participate in something. You built something. And everything you learned, every skill you developed, every connection you made — that belongs to you forever.

To our nonprofit partners: Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for mentoring our students, for giving them real work and real feedback, and for treating them like the professionals they were becoming. You made the internship experience meaningful.

To our donors and supporters, especially Google: Your belief in this mission made scale possible. Your support didn't just fund operations — it sent a message to every skeptic who thought teenagers couldn't run a national nonprofit. They were wrong.

To Courtney Stringer, our CEO and our AMAZING leadership team: You held this organization together with grace, professionalism, and an unshakeable commitment to the students we served. Interns 4-Good is better because of you.

So why are we closing?

Because we did what we set out to do. Most of our most engaged students are now in college, in careers, in leadership roles of their own. The nonprofits we supported are stronger. The idea we proved — that high schoolers have real skills and deserve real opportunities — is now part of the conversation in a way it wasn't in 2019.

We're not closing because we failed. We're closing because we succeeded.

The legacy of Interns 4-Good isn't a website or a nonprofit registration. It's the 20,000+ students who know they can show up, do hard things, and make a difference. It's the nonprofits that are stronger because a teenager cared enough to help. It's the children who got tutored, the communities that got served, and the future leaders who found their confidence here.

That legacy doesn't close. It multiplies.

Carry it forward. Keep volunteering. Keep building. Keep showing up for your communities. The world needs exactly what you have to offer.

With so much gratitude and pride,