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Leading communications agencies reboot award-winning diversity program for high school students

 The following is a press release from the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce


What We Do You Can Too (WWDYCT), a program that matches high school students with communications professionals, reboots its program after three years to give 18 students throughout Wake County the opportunity to intern at one of seven local communications agencies June 17-21. This program has previously won the American Advertising Federation’s National Club Achievement for Diversity and Multicultural Initiatives three times and the Mosaic Award for Multicultural Student Programs. The host agencies for the fifth year of this program include French West Vaughan, Ketchum, Eckel & Vaughan, Baldwin&, Ignite Social Media, Centerline Digital and Avenir Bold.

“Like many industries, the communications field struggles with both diversity and awareness of career opportunities,” said Matt Ferraguto, Partner and Client Services Director at Eckel & Vaughan. “Many local agencies have launched their own initiatives to address this challenge, but we know that we can make more of an impact if we join forces. What We Do You Can Too is designed to help young people from diverse backgrounds discover how their passion for writing, speaking, drawing, or video production can translate into a viable, lucrative career. We’re particularly excited that the students will be working in teams to collectively solve a problem, one of the most valuable and transferable skills in the modern workplace.”

WWDYCT was founded in 2012 and ran for four years. It was then redesigned and relaunched this year with participation from previous and new host agencies and sponsorship donations from the NC Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, the Triangle Chapter of the American Marketing Association, the Triangle Chapter of the American Advertising Federation, Kappa Charitable Trust Fund, Inc. and the Greater Raleigh National Pan-Hellenic Council. Each host agency will also provide students with a stipend upon successful completion of this program.

“We are very grateful for the generous donations and volunteers that helped reboot this program for the summer,” said Vernessa Roberts, Vice President of Communications at the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. “We especially want to thank our sponsors for their contributions, hosting agencies for volunteering their time and expertise and Brandillyfor creating our website.”

With the successful relaunch of this program, WWDYCT is excited to continue fostering the minds of young creatives with the hope each considers a career in the communications field. Parents and high school students interested in learning more about the program can visit wwdyct.org.

About What We Do You Can Too

What We Do You Can Too was founded by the Triangle AdFed and is sponsored by NC Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, the Triangle Chapter of the American Marketing Association, the Triangle Chapter of the American Advertising Federation, the Kappa Charitable Trust Fund, Inc. and the Greater Raleigh National Pan-Hellenic Council. This group connects high school students and with professionals who work in advertising, marketing and strategic communications agencies, providing them with real-life experiences. Its mission is to encourage and positively affect the lives of talented, diverse students who show an interest in communications and marketing through a summer internship program hosted by advertising and communications businesses.

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