ACCG Civic Affairs Foundation Receives Verizon Grant for Rural County Internships

The ACCG Civic Affairs Foundation received a $10,000 grant from Verizon to provide internship opportunities to rural counties for the 2024 Georgia County Internship Program (GCIP). GCIP provides grants to counties to hire high school students 16 years of age or older who are dually enrolled in a college program, college and university students, and recent graduates, to learn more about county government. Counties that have a population of 50,000 or below and have not previously participated in the GCIP will be eligible to participate in the Verizon grant. A list of eligible counties can be found here. Details on how to apply for this grant will be provided in the fall.

Foundation President Jim Monacell expressed appreciation for the continued support that Verizon has provided for both GCIP and the Georgia Civic Awareness Program for Students (GCAPS) through the years.

“The grant funding that Verizon provides allows the Foundation to reach counties that have not previously been involved in Foundation programs," said Monacell. "The 2019 grant awarded by Verizon funded eight internships in seven rural counties that had not previously participated in GCIP. Several of these counties have continued to participate in GCIP beyond the initial grant provided by Verizon because they saw the value of county internships.”

Thanks to grant funding, corporate gifts, and proceeds from the Annual Foundation Golf Tournament, over 500 funded internship opportunities have been provided through GCIP to more than 90 counties.

“It's an honor to help support this program and to encourage students to pursue careers in public service at the local government level,” noted Julie Smith, Vice President of External Affairs for Verizon. "Team members, including me, work with local government officials each and every day and we know how critical the work these public servants do is in our communities. We hope other corporations will join us in supporting the Georgia County Internship Program.”

For more information on the GCIP, please visit our website at http://www.accg.org/caf_gcip.php.

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