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200 Youth Hired for Coveted La Colaborativa Intern Positions

La Colaborativa
July 28, 2021
La Colaborativa Youth

It’s that time of year again. Every Summer, La Colaborativa works with the City of Chelsea to hire youth for coveted internship jobs. This year, 200 young people from ages 14-21 were hired, with the goal of connecting them to relevant career pathways and professions based on their interests.

As a way of supporting La Colaborativa’s long-term mission of promoting diversity in historically underrepresented fields and professions, we collaborate with 40+ local worksite community partners in the areas of STEM, Business, Public Policy, Public Health, Sports and Fitness, Education and Art.

Since the summer of 2002, La Colaborativa has successfully connected thousands of youth in Chelsea to early work experiences, helping them build solid career pathways. This internship program is something the whole community is proud to be a part of.

Left to Right: Chelsea Voting Initiative Interns at FSA workshop. SYEI Engineering Interns at a technical drawing workshop.

“I am part of the youth intern program and it changed so much in my life,” said Daniela, a repeat summer intern. “I was able to help my family during the pandemic with the phone and other house bills, thanks to this program. I am in a small Entrepreneur group where we discuss business and manufacturing. I would like to work as a business administrator someday. That has always been a dream of mine.

What I hope beyond this summer is to continue working with La Colaborativa because they inspire me so much to help youth to experience jobs (instead of having to do bad things in the streets) so they can have a bright future.”

The La Colaborativa community is thrilled to continue this internship program year after year. And, your continued support helps make this all possible!

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Land Acknowledgment

At La Colaborativa, we believe that building a more just, equitable, and healthy future begins with recognizing the histories of the land and the communities that came before us, while confronting the systemic inequities that continue to shape our society today.

We acknowledge that La Colaborativa is located in Winnisimmet, now known as Chelsea, Massachusetts, on the ancestral and unceded homeland of the Massachusett People, whose deep connections to this land, culture, and community endure today.

We honor the Indigenous peoples who have stewarded this land for generations and recognize the lasting consequences of colonization, forced displacement, dispossession, and systemic injustice. These histories are not simply part of the past. Their legacies continue to influence access to land, housing, healthcare, education, economic opportunity, and the resources that allow individuals, families, and communities to thrive.

At La Colaborativa, we understand that health equity cannot be achieved without addressing the social determinants of health, the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age.

Structural racism, poverty, housing instability, food insecurity, and barriers to education, employment, and healthcare disproportionately affect immigrant, Indigenous, and historically marginalized communities, perpetuating cycles of inequality across generations.

This understanding is at the heart of La Colaborativa's holistic, community-driven model. Our work recognizes that the challenges facing our communities are deeply interconnected and cannot be addressed in isolation. By integrating housing stability, food access, healthcare, workforce development, education, economic mobility, and community advocacy, we work to address the root causes of inequity, strengthen community resilience, and create pathways toward lasting social and economic opportunity.

Rooted in our mission of Levantando al Pueblo, we believe that meaningful change begins by centering the voices, experiences, cultural identities, and leadership of the communities most affected by systemic injustice. Just as we honor the resilience and enduring presence of Indigenous peoples, we recognize the strength of immigrant families and historically marginalized communities who continue to shape our collective future.

For us, a land acknowledgment is more than a statement of respect. It is a reminder of our responsibility to turn recognition into meaningful action, challenge the systems that perpetuate inequality, and advance a model of community well-being grounded in dignity, belonging, self-determination, and justice.

We offer this acknowledgment with respect and gratitude to the Massachusett People, their ancestors, elders, and present-day communities, and with a continued commitment to learning, solidarity, and building a future where every community has the resources, opportunities, and power to thrive.