By: Shweta Verma*
“I had a break of 6 years in my career. Was looking to get back into mainstream work. This was the perfect opportunity to ease back into the corporate world. Also, the values which Ginny’s Planet stands for really resonate with me – creating an empathetic and inclusive world.”– Pallavi Aggarwal, Mom Intern, Batch 1 (Jan-March 2021)
This is a typical mom who completes Mom-Internship on Ginny’s Planet! By ‘typical’, I mean- someone who is looking to come back to the job world after a break, and wants some practice time while upgrading skills and shifting gears in the daily routine. Pallavi later joined as Head of Marketing on Ginny’s Planet.
Mom-internship is a three month internship program specifically designed for moms who are keen to come back to work after a break. A two way process where mom interns engage in their own capacity building on issues of empathy, diversity & disability while we create a structured but flexible space for trying out new things, getting into a work routine, and practicing what they know & learn. These internships help in building confidence, CV, as well as a network. The internship is largely in online mode (part-time/full-time) with flexible working hours. The mom interns are expected to work for 5 days in a week.
We are often asked, ‘What is in it for Ginny’s Planet?’ Well, since the beginning we have seen that parents are our most committed ambassadors. They engage with us, support us and also spread the word about us. Hence, engaging with parents, especially moms became a priority for us. It is a win-win! We create this amazing space for moms while moms become our amazing team members and ambassadors. At the same time, this paves the way for us to fulfill our mission- to begin conversations on empathy, diversity, and disability at an early age with children.
Journey so far
Since Jan 1, 2021, 3 Batches have run till now. Out of 30 applicants over 3 batches, 10 have engaged with us for the internship. From the first 2 batches, 6 completed the internship fulfilling all requirements. 2 out of these were employed by Ginny’s Planet and 2 at Caregiver Saathi- an NGO, and the other two are engaged in domains of their choice.
How can you apply?
The applications for Batch 5 are now open! Apply HERE by 27 March
What do past Mom interns say? Here are some excepts from their feedback at the end of 3 month internship:
To what extent were you able to fulfil your objectives of joining as an intern?
Pallavi (Batch 1): “Was looking for a place where I am comfortable and my daughter had attended some workshops with Ginny’s Planet. I have more than fulfilled my objectives. I Learned a lot. Got up to date with the social media planning and execution while learning nuances of social media. It gave me an opportunity and safe space to learn, make mistakes and enhance my skill set.“
Ria Chakravorty (Batch 2), now engaged at Caregiver Saathi: “Mom-internship sounded very unique to me and I wanted to experience what was on offer and where it could lead me. This entire experience has been very enriching as it has prepared me mentally to get back to work mode and provided me great opportunities to boost my career further.”
A mom intern (Batch 2): “I was curious as it promised a new working environment, one which acknowledged and hence, made room for my role as a caregiver at home, and the application process came across as systematic, conveying that it was being taken seriously by the organisation. I won’t be in a position to rate it, but it helped me reconnect with my working self, especially the part about working in a team, and told me that when I liked the work, it was possible to get the job done, even with two small kids around, albeit with help from my family and colleagues.”
What are the key learnings and perspectives that you carry forward from this engagement with Ginny’s Planet?
Dishari Gupta (Batch 2), now engaged at Caregiver Saathi: “That it is okay to be different. I embrace my feelings and vulnerabilities. A life skill of empathy has been imbibed in me and I try to look at things with empathy in my mind. Of course I am not always successful but I try. I conducted a workshop on empathy …and I feel empowered. I also have to mention the much needed push in my professional life. A small example is Linkedin. When we were asked to finish the Linkedin article, the first thing I did for an entire afternoon was to update my Linkedin profile which had been dormant since 2015. So in a way it helped me reach out to the professional world and the article was an extra feather.”
Shraddha (Batch 3): “It will definitely help my career. And I will use the learning in my daily routine. It was amazing and wonderful experience to be a part of The Ginny’s Planet Team”
Meet the Mom interns Here!
About Ginny’s Planet:
Ginny’s Planet is a social enterprise Co-founded by Dr. Shweta Verma in 2019. The brand runs on the core value of helping our teachers and parents to teach their children to become independent, smart and better leaders by equipping them with a deep understanding of empathy, diversity, disability and inclusion. Dr. Shweta and the team design events, workshops and products to help guardians & schools to develop kids’ mindset and evolve as adaptive and flexible human beings. They work with schools to organise workshops for children and teachers.
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